Technological Origins: Environmental and Behavioral Context of the Earliest Tool Users

技术起源：最早的工具用户的环境和行为背景

• 批准号: 1624398
• 负责人: David Braun
• 金额: $ 29.48万
• 依托单位: George Washington University
• 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: 2016-08-01 至 2022-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1624398&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Technological; Origins; Environmental; Behavioral; Context

This award supports a three-year paleoanthropological investigation to expand our understanding of hominin behavior and ecology. Specifically, the investigators will analyze evidence of early hominin stone tool use, which is thought to have been a critical behavioral adaptation leading to the appearance of our own genus, Homo. The investigators have identified geological sediments dating from 3.4-2.6 million years ago that have abundant well-preserved fossils and may include indications of the production and use of chipped and pounded stone tools. The research will involve fieldwork and the use of novel techniques for analyzing stone artifacts as well as bones with evidence of butchery. In addition to advancing our knowledge about the origins of our own species, the project will support student training and community science outreach. Activities will include coordinating research activities with a paleoanthropological field school, inclusion of researchers and students from underrepresented groups in STEM fields, and graduate student Public Understanding of Science internships and outreach efforts at the Smithsonian Institution. The paleontological data derived from this project will become part of the Turkana Paleontology Database, an effort initially funded by NSF that makes paleontological data publicly available through the Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems Program and the National Museums of Kenya.Humans are unique in their ability to use technology to adapt to diverse ecological scenarios. Yet, the origins of our technological prowess and the ways in which human technological behavior impacted dietary ecology in our hominin ancestors are not fully understood. The investigators will conduct three field seasons of paleoanthropological research at the Koobi Fora Formation in the Turkana Basin of Kenya. The research will involve intensive fieldwork and analyses of stone artifacts, bones with evidence of butchery, and tools that have been used for percussive activities. The investigators have developed new methodologies that can identify artifacts (pounding tools) and cut marked bones even in low-density archeological contexts. The team will also carry out high-resolution stratigraphically delimited surveys to collect paleontological, paleobotanical, and geochemical contextual data. This research has direct impacts on our understanding of how and when our hominin ancestors began to use tools to enhance their fitness and will help to place the earliest stone tool users in a broader climatic context of Pliocene eastern Africa.

该奖项支持一项为期三年的古人类学调查，以扩大我们对古人类行为和生态的理解。具体来说，研究人员将分析早期古人类使用石器的证据，这被认为是导致我们自己的属（人属）出现的关键行为适应。研究人员已经发现了距今 3.4-260 万年前的地质沉积物，其中含有大量保存完好的化石，并且可能包括生产和使用打碎和捣碎石器的迹象。该研究将涉及实地考察和使用新技术来分析石器以及有屠宰证据的骨头。除了增进我们对自己物种起源的了解外，该项目还将支持学生培训和社区科学推广。活动将包括与古人类学田野学校协调研究活动、吸收 STEM 领域代表性不足群体的研究人员和学生，以及研究生在史密森学会的公众理解科学实习和外展工作。该项目获得的古生物学数据将成为图尔卡纳古生物学数据库的一部分，该数据库最初由美国国家科学基金会资助，通过陆地生态系统演化计划和肯尼亚国家博物馆公开提供古生物学数据。人类利用技术适应不同生态场景的能力是独一无二的。然而，我们技术实力的起源以及人类技术行为影响人类祖先饮食生态的方式尚未完全了解。研究人员将在肯尼亚图尔卡纳盆地的库比福拉地层进行三个野外季节的古人类学研究。该研究将涉及对石制品、有屠宰证据的骨头以及用于打击活动的工具进行深入的实地考察和分析。研究人员开发了新的方法，即使在低密度的考古环境中，也可以识别文物（敲击工具）并切割有标记的骨头。该团队还将进行高分辨率地层划界调查，以收集古生物学、古植物学和地球化学背景数据。这项研究对我们了解人类祖先如何以及何时开始使用工具来增强身体素质有直接影响，并将有助于将最早的石器使用者置于上新世东非更广泛的气候背景中。