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大学的萨拉·赫鲁比克将开展一项研究项目，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问题。从南方古猿/早期人属到直立人的身体变化是惊人的，直立人体型更大，躯干更细长，这表明消化系统发生了变化。 这种变化可以解释为经常使用火来帮助准备食物。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出现H。直立人这项研究将通过一个包括挖掘和实验的研究计划来评估最早的火灾记录可以追溯到至少150万年前（mya）的说法，以确定火灾的特征及其在景观上的寿命。这个项目探索了在露天遗址的古代考古记录中识别火灾的方法。 它在很大程度上基于挖掘，取样和与实验工作的比较，以观察景观和文化背景中的火灾特征，以及是否可以在超过100万年的遗址中识别和检测。 这项工作主要在肯尼亚北方进行。 FxJj 20 AB遗址是一个已知的遗址，到目前为止已经产生了数千件文物和骨骼化石，并包含一些暗示存在火的证据。该遗址位于洪泛平原沉积物上，几乎没有证据表明人工制品因水或风而移动，这使得它成为回答是否存在火以及创造该遗址的人类祖先是否维持和控制火的问题的一个很好的候选者。 挖掘是用小型工具进行的，可以将所有材料恢复到原来的位置。检查人工制品和骨是否存在可能的灼伤迹象。取样的材料包括沉积柱、松散的沉积物、石头和骨头样本，用于使用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪（FTIR）进行调查，并与实验产生的样本进行比较，以确定现场的材料是否被烧毁。沉积柱也通过岩石薄片检查，以确定其创建后的网站的具体历史。