Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Origins Of Modern Human Behavior

在亚利桑那州立大学柯蒂斯·马里恩博士的指导下，本杰明·斯科维尔将研究早期现代人如何使用石器技术来适应南非石器时代中期（约28 -4万年前）不断变化的气候和海岸线。这一时期和地区对于我们理解现代人类的起源和文献是至关重要的，当时所有人类共同的一套独特的文化和行为特征开始出现。遗传和考古数据表明，现代人类起源于非洲，但并不是每个人都幸存下来并传播到非洲以外。目前尚不清楚非洲的环境如何影响MSA的人类生物和行为进化；然而，在这一时期出现了一些突破性的技术，如石尖矛和远程射弹。通过分析来自海岸和内陆、封闭空间（如洞穴）和开放景观的考古组合的横截面，研究人员将清楚地了解早期人类如何使用这些技术来寻找食物。人类血统的一个决定性特征是文化和技术知识的创造、使用和传播。了解科技与环境之间的相互作用，对于阐明文化在人类起源过程中的作用至关重要。这项研究的重点是通过使用创新的基于图像的定量方法来分析石器工具，从研究非洲南部考古组合中的石器边缘损伤模式来了解古代工具的使用。一个广泛的现代工具使用实验项目使用复制的石器，提供了考古文物和它们的用途之间的比较联系。数字摄影方法的使用在功能分析方面取得了进步，同时也允许与其他研究人员轻松共享和档案访问。该项目产生的考古和实验数据将为石器是如何以及为什么被制造、使用和丢弃提供新的见解，对狩猎、觅食、景观利用、战争和合作的演变具有重要意义。南非南部海岸拥有丰富而复杂的MSA考古记录，包括在凉爽和多变气候下复杂行为和职业的早期证据。通过将他们的研究与其他研究南部非洲古环境的研究人员结合起来，关于早期人类如何构建他们的景观工具使用行为的跨学科问题将得到解决。

Under the supervision of Dr. Curtis Marean at Arizona State University, Benjamin Schoville will study how early modern humans used stone tool technology to adapt to changing climates and coastlines in the Middle Stone Age (MSA, ~280-40 thousand years ago) of South Africa. This time period and region is critical for our understanding of modern human origins and documents when the unique set of cultural and behavioral traits common to all human populations today began to appear. Genetic and archaeological data indicate modern humans originated in Africa, but not every population survived and spread out of Africa. It is not well known how the environments of Africa influenced human biological and behavioral evolution in the MSA; however, several breakthrough technologies such as stone-tipped spears and long-range projectiles appear during this time period. By analyzing a cross-section of archaeological assemblages from the coast and interior, within enclosed spaces such as caves and on the open landscape, the researchers will provide clarity on how early humans used such technologies to forage for food. A defining trait of the human lineage is the creation, use, and transmission of cultural and technological knowledge. Understanding the interactions between technology and the environment is essential to illuminating the role of culture during the origin of our species. This study is focused on understanding ancient tool use from the study of lithic edge damage patterns at archaeological assemblages in southern Africa by using innovative image-based quantitative methods for analyzing stone tools. An extensive experimental program of modern tool use using replicated stone tools provides the comparative linkages between the archaeological artifacts and the tasks they were used for. The use of digital photographic methods makes advances in functional analysis while also allowing easy sharing with other researchers and archival accessibility. Together, the archaeological and experimental data produced by this project will provide new insights into how and why stone tools were made, used, and discarded - with important implications for the evolution of hunting, foraging, landscape use, warfare, and cooperation. The south coast of South Africa has a rich and complex MSA archaeological record including early evidence of complex behaviors and of occupation during cool and variable climates. By coupling their research with other researchers working on the paleoenvironments of southern Africa, transdisciplinary questions about how early humans structured their landscape tool-use behaviors will be addressed.