Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Microliths and the Development of Cultural Complexity

是什么让智人成为如此成功的物种，并成为地球上仅存的人类呢？是什么使它能够在整个世界殖民，并在新的或极端的环境中生存？一些研究人员认为，一种被称为“微石”的新技术的发展是成功和全球传播的关键适应策略。这些小工具的好处包括更有效地将原材料转化为可用的石器，创造创新和多样化的工具，并与复合工具的使用联系在一起。复合工具将多个部件组合在一起，通常与机械辅助抛射技术和狩猎武器的普及有关。微岩屑的出现和传播被认为是晚更新世全球技术重组趋势的一部分。然而，这些联系，甚至“微石”的定义都是有问题的。定义往往是上下文相关的，并且在广泛考虑任何有意生产的小薄片和小工具的特定表现之间摇摆不定。这使得人们对被认为是现代人类关键技术创新的发展、传播和潜在利益的理解变得复杂。研究人员必须系统地研究小工具是如何制造出来的，而不是专注于微石的类型学定义。通过关注在不同背景下用于生产小工具的技术系统，人们可以了解每个系统是如何变化的，以及用于小工具生产的技术系统是重新发明的聚合解决方案还是在群体内部和群体之间传播的文化知识。这对更新世晚期的种群结构和相互联系具有启示意义。该项目将促进国际合作，并为学生参与者提供指导和培训机会，包括第一代学生、少数民族学生、妇女和残疾学生，以扩大代表性不足的群体对科学研究的参与。这个博士论文项目考察了与供应、运输、复合工具和抛射技术的使用系统相关的决策，以及这些决策如何影响更新世晚期小型工具技术的生产形式和系统。晚更新世的考古记录为现代人的行为变化提供了早期证据，对我们了解物种的起源和进化至关重要。研究人员将采用石器组合的技术分析和实验考古学来了解原料供应和运输系统如何影响晚更新世时期的技术组织和小工具生产的个人系统。该项目的结果将有助于检查复合工具制造的不同策略的成本和收益，并为评估抛射武器的发展和传播提供独立的证据。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。

What was it that made Homo sapiens such a successful species and the sole remaining hominin on the landscape? What enabled it to colonize the entire world and survive in novel or extreme environments? Some researchers argue the development of a new kind of technology, called "microliths," was a key adaptive strategy in the success and global spread. Benefits of these small tools are argued to include more efficient conversion of raw materials into usable stone tools, creation of innovative and diverse tools, and have been linked with the use of composite tools. Composite tools combine multiple components and are often linked to the spread of mechanically assisted projectile technology and hunting weapons. The appearance and spread of microliths is suggested to be part of a global trend of technological reorganization during the late Pleistocene. However, these associations, and even the definition of "microliths," are problematic. Definitions tend to be contextual and oscillate between broad considerations of any intentionally produced small flake and specific manifestations of small tools. This has complicated understanding of the development, spread, and potential benefits of what is considered a pivotal technological innovation of modern humans. Rather than focusing on a typological definition of microliths, researchers must systematically address how small tools were made. By focusing on the technological system used to produce small tools in different contexts, one can understand how each system varied and whether technological systems for small tool production were convergent solutions that were reinvented or cultural knowledge transmitted within and between groups. This has implications for population structure and interconnectedness during the late Pleistocene. This project will foster international collaborations and provide opportunities for mentorship and training of student participants, including first-generation students, minorities, women, and students with disabilities to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in scientific research.This doctoral dissertation project examines decisions related to systems of provisioning, transport, and the use of composite tools and projectile technology and how these affected the form and systems of production of small tool technologies during the late Pleistocene. The archaeological record during the late Pleistocene has provided early evidence for behavioral changes in modern humans and has been vital to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the species. The researcher will employ technological analysis of stone tool assemblages and experimental archaeology to understand how systems of raw material provisioning and transport influence on technological organization and individual systems of small tool production during the late Pleistocene. Results from this project will contribute to examination of the costs and benefits of different strategies for composite tool manufacture and to provide an independent line of evidence to evaluate the development and spread of projectile weaponry.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.