The Emergence of Human Complex Abilities

这项研究涉及早期人类文化和早期骨工具对评估人类认知能力的影响。骨工具被认为是现代人类行为的重要特征之一。在欧洲，复杂的骨骼技术是大约4万年前开始的旧石器时代晚期的特征。骨工具是用专门适用于骨材料的技术制造的，如刮削、研磨和抛光，以及各种形状和功能（劈基点、骨柄、矛投掷器、尖、鱼叉）。据说，早期“前现代”人类的骨骼技术比旧石器时代晚期的工具更简单，概念化程度也更低。在早在50万年前的欧洲遗址中，人们就发现了用于制造石器的锤子和刮刀的肢骨。只有少数几件显示出通过剥落形成的证据，完全成型的工具就更罕见了。这项研究的目的是更详细地了解它们形成的过程。这项研究不仅将进一步了解人类过去的基本知识，而且将进一步促进国际科学合作。这项研究需要一个国际团队成员的密切合作。在40万至30万年前的意大利拉提姆（Latium）的四个遗址中，人们发现了多种由对称形状的大象长骨剥落而成的工具。所使用的制造技术与敲击石器的技术相同。这种从石头到骨头的技术转移被认为表明前现代人类没有创造性思维的能力。早期骨骼技术的一个重要方面是关于正确识别工具的标准，因为各种自然过程可以产生人造工具的仿制品。该项目将对圭多城堡40万年前的所有骨头和石器工具进行技术和地语学分析。许多被归类为工具的作品只呈现出有限数量的修改，这些修改不够独特，不足以消除人们对其意图的怀疑。分析的目的是利用石质文物的特征，消除鉴定骨片文物时的歧义。最近在年代测定方面的进展表明，拉提姆的四个遗址的时间比预期的要近，这一事实引发了一个问题：在拉提姆地区如此常见的片状骨制品的出现是否代表了一种真正的地区传统，反映了同一地区群体之间的一系列社会传播习惯？这与传统观念背道而驰，传统观念认为，前现代文化在很大的地理范围和很长的时期内是静态的、同质的。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This research concerns early human culture and the implications of early bone tools for assessing human cognitive abilities. Worked bone tools are considered among the important features characterizing modern human behavior. In Europe complex bone technologies are characteristics of the Upper Paleolithic which began about 40,000 years ago. Bone tools were made with techniques specifically adapted to bone materials such as scraping, grinding and polishing and a wide range of shapes and functions (split-base points, bone handles, spear-throwers, points, harpoons). The bone technology of earlier "pre-modern" humans is said to be simpler and involving a lower degree of conceptualization than Upper Paleolithic tools. Limb bones used as hammers and scrapers for the manufacture of stone tools are known from European sites as old as 500, 000 years ago. Just a few pieces show evidence of shaping by flaking and fully shaped tools are even rarer. The goal of this research is to understand in greater detail the processes by which they were made. This research will not only further basic knowledge regarding the human past but also further international scientific collaboration. The research involves close collaboration by members of an international team.Multiple tools made by flaking elephant long bones of symmetrical shape have been described in four sites in Latium (Italy) dated between 400,000 and 300,000 years ago. The manufacturing technique used was the same technique used in knapping stone artifacts. This transfer of techniques from stones to bone is taken as an indication that pre-modern humans were incapable of creative thinking. An important aspect of early bone technology is about the criteria used to correctly identify tools since various natural processes can produce mimics of man-made tools. This project will carry out a technological and taphonomic analysis of all the bone and stone tools from the assemblage of Castel di Guido dated to about 400,000 years ago. Many pieces classed as tools present only a limited amount of modification that is not distinctive enough to remove doubts about their intentionality. Analysis will be directed to the elimination of ambiguities in the identification of flaked bone artifacts by using features characteristic of stone artifacts. The fact that recent advances in dating suggest that the four sites in Latium are closer in time than expected invite a question: do these occurrences of flaked bone artifacts so common in the Latium region represent a genuine regional tradition, reflecting a set of socially transmitted habits between groups in the same region? This would run counter to the conventional idea that pre-modern culture was static and homogeneous over its large geographic extent and long periods.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.