Doctoral Dissertation Research: Standardized bone tools: investigating a new technology in the Middle Paleolithic

博士论文研究：标准化骨工具：研究旧石器时代中期的新技术

• 批准号: 1550161
• 负责人: Teresa Steele
• 金额: $ 1.81万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1550161&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Standardized; bone

The emergence of behaviorally modern humans, approximately 50,000 years ago, amid multiple other Late Pleistocene hominin groups has been of great interest to the general public in recent years, as evidenced by many popular science articles and television programs. A key focus of Paleolithic archaeological and anthropological research is the study of the origin of modern human behaviors, including cognitive and behavioral similarities and differences between our species and our closest relative, the Neandertals. Much evidence suggests that the Neandertal and modern human populations that overlapped geographically and chronologically exhibited similar behaviors. Ultimately, however, modern human populations replaced Neandertals, but the mechanisms behind Neandertal extinction remain a subject of continued debate. This project considers the implications for standardized bone tool technology in Neandertal contexts. This particular technology may have been innovated by Neandertals, passed by acculturation from modern humans to Neandertals, or, conversely, learned by modern humans from Neandertals. The data collected from this project will provide an independent line of evidence that will contribute to the discussions on the nature of cognition related to technology, the relationship between Neandertals and modern humans, and the understanding of Neandertal extinction. The significant international collaborative component of this project will bring various viewpoints (more traditional and more technology-driven approaches) together to form a cohesive research program. Additionally, this project will establish new methodological approaches for research on bone tools by combining traditional qualitative with innovative quantitative analyses. Ultimately, this project will contribute to the understanding of hominin behavior through a detailed analysis of bone tools before and after the replacement of Neandertals by modern humans. This project by PhD candidate Naomi L. Martisius (University of California, Davis), under the supervision of Dr. Teresa E. Steele, will build a research program around the study of recently described Neandertal-made bone tools, called lissoirs (a French term meaning "smoothers"), and investigates their potential function and innovation through experimental and comparative research. This discovery shows that Neandertals were capable of producing standardized bone tools, a technology previously thought to have been restricted to modern humans. This research will assess modern human-made lissoirs to understand the extent of their variation in relation to function within these tools, engaging in experimental and comparative research to investigate raw material selection, if ribs were pre-shaped or shaped through use, and how they were used through an innovative approach to study the traces left on bones through use, and an attempt to identify additional pieces from other Neandertal assemblages to determine their temporal span. Clear, demonstrable production and use of standardized bone technology by Neandertals will transform understanding of their behavior and the relationship between Neandertals and modern humans.

近年来，许多科普文章和电视节目都证明，大约5万年前，在众多晚更新世古人类群体中出现了行为上的现代人，这引起了公众的极大兴趣。旧石器时代考古学和人类学研究的一个重点是对现代人类行为起源的研究，包括我们与我们最近的亲戚尼安德特人在认知和行为上的异同。许多证据表明，尼安德特人和现代人在地理上和时间上重叠，表现出相似的行为。然而，现代人类最终取代了尼安德特人，但尼安德特人灭绝背后的机制仍然是一个持续争论的话题。该项目考虑了在尼安德特人背景下标准化骨工具技术的含义。这种特殊的技术可能是尼安德特人发明的，通过文化适应从现代人传给尼安德特人，或者相反，现代人从尼安德特人那里学到的。从该项目收集的数据将提供一条独立的证据线，有助于讨论与技术相关的认知本质、尼安德特人和现代人之间的关系以及对尼安德特人灭绝的理解。该项目的重要国际合作组成部分将把各种观点（更传统的和更技术驱动的方法）结合在一起，形成一个有凝聚力的研究项目。此外，本项目将结合传统的定性分析与创新的定量分析，为骨工具的研究建立新的方法方法。最终，该项目将通过对现代人取代尼安德特人前后骨骼工具的详细分析，有助于了解人类的行为。这个项目由博士候选人Naomi L. Martisius（加州大学戴维斯分校）在Teresa E. Steele博士的指导下进行，将围绕最近描述的尼安德特人制造的骨工具lissoirs（法语术语，意思是“光滑器”）的研究建立一个研究项目，并通过实验和比较研究来调查它们的潜在功能和创新。这一发现表明，尼安德特人有能力制造标准化的骨工具，而此前人们认为这种技术仅限于现代人。这项研究将评估现代人类制造的lissoirs，以了解它们在这些工具中与功能相关的变化程度，参与实验和比较研究，以调查原材料选择，肋骨是预先成型的还是通过使用形成的，以及它们是如何通过创新的方法来研究使用过程中遗留在骨头上的痕迹，并试图识别其他尼安德特人组合的其他碎片，以确定它们的时间跨度。尼安德特人对标准化骨骼技术的生产和使用将改变人们对他们的行为以及尼安德特人与现代人之间关系的理解。

项目成果

A method for the taphonomic assessment of bone tools using 3D surface texture analysis of bone microtopography

• DOI: 10.1007/s12520-020-01195-y
• 发表时间: 2020-10
• 期刊: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
• 影响因子: 2.2
• 作者: Naomi L. Martisius;Shannon J. P. McPherron;E. Schulz-Kornas;M. Soressi;T. Steele

Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals

无损 ZoomMS 鉴定揭示了尼安德特人战略性骨工具原材料选择

• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64358-w
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Scientific Reports
• 影响因子: 4.6
• 作者: Martisius, Naomi L.;Welker, Frido;Dogandžić, Tamara;Grote, Mark N.;Rendu, William;Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie;Wilcke, Arndt;McPherron, Shannon J.;Soressi, Marie;Steele, Teresa E.
• 通讯作者: Steele, Teresa E.