Doctoral Dissertation Research: Establishing contexts of encounters: Radiocarbon dating of archaeological assemblages with implications for Neanderthal-modern human interactions

在大卫·皮尔比姆博士的指导下，博士候选人布里奇特·亚历克斯将在三个人口之间潜在接触的地区，对现代人和尼安德特人的分布进行改进的基于放射性碳的年表。修订后的年表将有助于限制它们在何时何地重叠。在这样的背景下，可以比较这两个群体的考古记录，以确定有意义的差异，以及可能是现代人类特有的适应性。这种比较是解决人类学基本问题的一种方法：现代人类的独特之处是什么？为什么其他人类种群会灭绝？绘制尼安德特人和现代人在时间和空间上的分布是有问题的。潜在的问题是如何证明可确定年代的物质（主要是有机碳）与某个特定人群的存在有关。已经发展了一些理论和方法上的创新，以支持放射性碳测年与种群发生之间的联系。首先，由于缺乏分类学上明确的、直接确定年代的人类化石，大多数种群的发生都是从考古代用物中推断出来的。为了对考古人群进行分类，学者们已经从基于人工制品的类型学转向了广泛的行为包，或者是物质文化生产中特殊选择的文化特定套件。其次，可靠的放射性碳测年需要对环境、地语学历史和潜在样品的保存进行严格的评估。这一过程的关键是将实地调查和实验室分析结合起来，这样同一位研究者就可以记录下样本挖掘后的完整历史，并更好地解释异常情况。最后，放射性碳样品的制备应采用旨在去除污染物的最先进的预处理程序。亚历克斯将综合这些创新，为三个可能重叠的地区的活跃挖掘提供可靠的放射性碳年代：黎凡特的马诺特洞穴，巴尔干半岛的佩图里纳洞穴和欧洲东北部的希姆纳洞穴。新的日期将与经过严格审查的已发表日期相结合，以产生可靠的区域年表，可用于评估每个地区尼安德特人与现代人相互作用的可能性。该项目将为人类学中最具争议的话题之一提供一个研究框架和关键数据：50- 30ka之间现代人的分散、尼安德特人的灭绝和文化变化之间的关系。该项目旨在产生广泛而理想的社会影响。它要求并将促进不同领域学者之间的国际合作，包括考古学、生物人类学、地球科学和化学。Alex将从不同的角度接受科学家的指导，并将这种培训传播给国内外的学生。这些方法和结果将通过各种外展组织与公众分享，亚历克斯积极参与。这些组织包括哈佛自然历史博物馆和皮博迪博物馆，以及为女孩和少数族裔提供科学体验的女孩科学俱乐部。最后，尼安德特人与现代人互动的话题引起了广泛的公众兴趣。亚历克斯定期就这一主题进行公开讲座，这是教育公众了解科学方法、进化和气候变化的绝佳机会。

Supervised by Dr. David Pilbeam, doctoral candidate Bridget Alex will produce improved radiocarbon-based chronologies of modern human and Neanderthal distributions in three regions of potential contact between the populations. The revised chronologies will help to constrain where and when they overlapped. In such a context the archaeological records of both groups can be compared in order to identify meaningful differences and possibly, adaptations unique to modern humans. This comparison is one approach to a fundamental question of anthropology: what is unique about modern humans and why did other human populations go extinct?Mapping the distribution of Neanderthals and modern humans in time and space is problematic. The underlying issue is how to demonstrate that dateable material (mainly organic carbon) relates to the presence of a particular human population. A number of theoretical and methodological innovations have been developed to support the links between radiocarbon dates and population occurrences. First, due to the paucity of taxonomically unambiguous, directly dated human fossils, most population occurrences are inferred from archaeological proxies. To classify archaeological populations, scholars have shifted from artifact-based typologies to broad behavioral packages, or culturally specific suites of idiosyncratic choices in the production of material culture. Next, the production of reliable radiocarbon dates requires rigorous evaluation of the context, taphonomic history, and preservation of potential samples. Essential to this process is an integration of fieldwork and laboratory analyses, so that the same investigator can document the full post-excavation history of samples, and better explain anomalies. Lastly, radiocarbon samples should be prepared by state of the art pretreatment procedures designed to remove contaminants.Alex will synthesize these innovations to produce reliable radiocarbon dates for active excavations in three regions of potential overlap: Manot Cave in the Levant, Pe'turina Cave in the Balkans, and Ciemna Cave in Northeast Europe. The new dates will be combined with critically reviewed published dates to produce secure regional chronologies, which can be used to evaluate the likelihood of Neanderthal-modern human interactions in each region. The project will provide a research framework and critical data pertinent to one of the most debated topics in anthropology: the relations between modern human dispersals, Neanderthal extinctions, and cultural changes between 50-30 ka.The project aims to impart broad, desired societal impacts. It requires and will facilitate international collaboration between scholars in different fields, including archaeology, biological anthropology, earth sciences, and chemistry. Alex will be mentored by scientists from diverse perspectives, and will disseminate this training to students at home and abroad. The methods and results will be shared with the public through a variety of outreach organizations, with which Alex is actively involved. The organizations include the Harvard Museum of Natural History and Peabody Museum, as well as Science Club for Girls, a program that provides science experiences to girls and minorities. Lastly, the topic of Neanderthal-modern human interactions enjoys widespread public interest. Alex regularly offers public lectures on the topic, which are excellent opportunities to educate the public on the scientific method, evolution, and climate change.