Doctoral Dissertation Research Award: Establishing A Wild Resource Isotopic Baseline For Behavioral Reconstruction

博士论文研究奖：建立行为重建的野生资源同位素基线

• 批准号: 1523275
• 负责人: Joan Coltrain
• 金额: $ 2.07万
• 依托单位: University of Utah
• 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: 2015-05-01 至 2017-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1523275&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Award; Establishing

Under the direction of Dr. Joan Coltrain Mr. Michael Lewis will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. These consist of isotope values derived from present day plants located on the Cedar Mesa in southeast Utah. With this information it will be possible to gain insight into the diet of prehistoric farmers on the Colorado Plateau. The goal of the research is to use isotopic data derived from human skeletal material to reconstruct individuals' diets and then gain insight into group social organization. This project translates sex-based differences in human bone chemistry into distinct dietary differences, clarifying the economic roles of men and women in prehistoric society. While the data to be collected will be used to reconstruct the past, the information will also have relevance for understanding water, soil and plant interactions in the desert west, and will contribute to developing strategies for responsibly balancing preservation, recreation and economic development on the Colorado Plateau. This project has four components. First, the investigators will analyze modern flora collected on Cedar Mesa, southeast Utah in 2014. Sampling locations will be selected to determine the extent to which environmental variation can influence isotope ratios within a single species. Second, bone collagen from faunal specimens from archaeological sites on Cedar Mesa will be obtained, extracted and analyzed. This will permit researchers to estimate the isotopic values of lean muscle consumed by prehistoric hunters. Third, pit-roasting of banana yucca "hearts", an important component of Cedar Mesa prehistoric diet, will be simulated under controlled conditions, permitting the isotopic comparison of the edible portion of the heart with the composition of yucca fibers which are often recovered archaeologically. Finally, the above plant and animal will then combined with published data on human burials from the Cedar Mesa area to reconstruct diet. This will permit researchers to determine the relative contributions of plant and animal foods in a cross gender comparison. Results will be published to the scientific community and presented to the public through local educational outreach.

在Joan Coltrain博士的指导下，Michael刘易斯先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。这些包括来自位于犹他州东南部雪松梅萨的现代植物的同位素值。有了这些信息，就有可能深入了解科罗拉多高原上史前农民的饮食。这项研究的目标是利用来自人类骨骼材料的同位素数据来重建个人的饮食，然后深入了解群体的社会组织。 该项目将人类骨骼化学中基于性别的差异转化为明显的饮食差异，澄清了男性和女性在史前社会中的经济角色。虽然收集的数据将用于重建过去，但这些信息也将有助于了解沙漠西部的水、土壤和植物的相互作用，并将有助于制定战略，以负责任的方式平衡科罗拉多高原的保护、娱乐和经济发展。该项目有四个组成部分。首先，研究人员将分析2014年在犹他州东南部雪松梅萨采集的现代植物群。将选择取样地点，以确定环境变化在多大程度上会影响单个物种的同位素比率。其次，将从雪松梅萨考古遗址的动物标本中获得骨胶原，提取并分析。 这将使研究人员能够估计史前猎人消耗的瘦肌肉的同位素值。第三，坑烤香蕉丝兰“心”，雪松梅萨史前饮食的一个重要组成部分，将在受控条件下模拟，允许同位素比较的可食用部分的心与丝兰纤维的组成，往往是考古恢复。最后，上述植物和动物将与已发表的关于雪松梅萨地区人类墓葬的数据相结合，以重建饮食。这将使研究人员能够在跨性别比较中确定植物和动物食物的相对贡献。 研究结果将向科学界公布，并通过当地的教育宣传向公众介绍。