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

新泽西州立大学罗格斯分校的萨拉·赫鲁比克将开展一项研究项目，以调查人类祖先何时开始定期使用火。这项研究解决了理解人属进化的一个关键话题。从南方古猿/早期人到直立人的生理变化是惊人的，直立人的身体更大，躯干更细长，这表明消化系统发生了变化。这一变化可以用经常使用火来帮助准备食物来解释。十多年来，研究人员一直在争论这一点，但在考古记录中，没有直立人的出现而发生火灾的例子。这项研究将评估这样一种说法，即有记录以来最早的火灾可以追溯到至少150万年前(Mya)，通过一项积极的研究计划，包括挖掘和实验，以确定火灾的特征及其在景观上的持久性。该项目探索在露天遗址的古代考古记录中识别火灾的方法。它主要基于挖掘、采样和与实验工作的比较，以查看火灾在景观和文化背景中的特征，以及是否可以在超过100万年的遗址中识别和检测到它。这项工作主要发生在肯尼亚北部。FxJj20 AB遗址是一个已知的遗址，到目前为止已经发现了数千件文物和化石骨骼，并包含了一些关于火存在的提示性证据。该遗址位于泛滥平原的沉积物上，几乎没有证据表明人工制品通过水或风移动，这使得它成为回答是否存在火以及火是否由创造该遗址的人类祖先维持和控制的问题的很好的候选者。挖掘是用小工具进行的，使所有材料都能恢复到原来的位置。对文物和骨骼进行检查，以寻找可能的燃烧迹象。取样的材料包括沉积柱、松散的沉积物、石头和骨骼样本，用于使用傅立叶变换红外光谱仪(FTIR)进行调查，并将其与实验产生的样本进行比较，以确定现场材料是否已被焚烧。沉积柱还通过岩石学薄片进行检查，以确定遗址创建后的特定历史。

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.