Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Research Into The Origins Of Human Technology

博士论文改进奖：人类技术起源研究

• 批准号: 1443339
• 负责人: Craig Feibel
• 金额: $ 2.27万
• 依托单位: Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-02-01 至 2017-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1443339&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Award; Research

Sarah Hlubik of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, will undertake a research project to investigate when human ancestors first began using fire on a regular basis. This study addresses a crucial topic in understanding the evolution of the genus Homo. The physical changes from Australopithecus/early Homo to Homo erectus are striking, with Homo erectus being larger bodied and with a more slender trunk, indicating a change in the digestive system. This change can be explained by the regular use of fire to help prepare food. For over a decade researchers have argued this point, but there are no archaeological instances of fire in the record with the appearance of H. erectus. This study will assess the claim that the earliest fire in the record dates back to at least 1.5 million years ago (mya) through a vigorous research schedule that includes excavation and experimentation to determine the signature of fire and its longevity on the landscape.This project explores the ways in which fire can be identified in the ancient archaeological record of open-air sites. It is based heavily on excavation, sampling, and comparison to experimental work to look at the signature of fire on the landscape and in cultural contexts, and whether it can be identified and detected in sites greater than 1 million years. The work primarily takes place in Northern Kenya.. The site of FxJj20 AB is a known site, which has so far yielded several thousand artifacts and fossil bone, and contains some suggestive evidence for the presence of fire. The site is located on floodplain sediments, with little evidence of artifact movement by water or wind, which makes it a good candidate to answer the question of whether or not fire was present and whether or not fire was maintained and controlled by the human ancestors who created the site. Excavation is conducted with small tools, enabling the recovery of all materials in their original position. Artifacts and bone are examined for possible indications of burning. Sampled materials include sedimentary columns, and loose sediment, stone, and bone samples for investigation using a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), which are compared with experimentally produced samples to determine whether the materials on site have been burned. Sedimentary columns are also examined through petrographic thin-sectioning to determine the specific history of the site after its creation.

新泽西州立大学罗格斯（Rutgers）的莎拉·赫鲁比克（Sarah Hlubik）将开展一项研究项目，以调查人类祖先何时定期开始使用大火。 这项研究介绍了理解同性恋属的演变的关键主题。从Australopithecus/早期HOMO到HOMO直立的物理变化令人震惊，Homo直立较大，身体较大，并且具有更细长的躯干，表明消化系统发生了变化。 可以通过定期使用火来准备食物来解释这种变化。十多年来，研究人员一直在争论这一点，但是在直立螺旋体的出现时，没有记录的考古实例。这项研究将评估以下说法：记录中最早的大火可以追溯到至少150万年前（MYA），其中包括发掘和实验，以确定火灾的签名及其在景观上的寿命。 它在很大程度上基于开挖，采样和与实验工作的比较，以查看景观和文化环境中火的签名，以及是否可以在超过一百万年的地点进行识别和检测到。 这项工作主要发生在肯尼亚北部。FXJJ20AB的地点是一个已知的地点，到目前为止，该地点产生了数千件文物和化石骨，并包含一些暗示性的证据证明了火灾的存在。该地点位于洪泛区沉积物上，几乎没有迹象表明水或风的人工制品移动，这使得是回答是否存在火灾以及是否由创建该地点的人类祖先维持和控制火的问题。 发掘是用小工具进行的，使所有材料都可以在其原始位置中恢复。检查伪影和骨骼是否有可能燃烧的迹象。采样材料包括沉积柱以及使用傅立叶变换红外光谱仪（FTIR）进行研究的沉积物，石材和骨样品，它们与实验生产的样品进行了比较，以确定是否燃烧了现场的材料。还通过岩石学薄截面来检查沉积柱，以确定其创建后的特定历史。