泥河湾盆地早更新世人类行为及其与环境关系研究-以麻地沟遗址为例

泥河湾盆地是早期人类扩散至东亚最早证据所在地，是研究中国北方早更新世人类演化和环境关系的关键地区。本项目拟对新发现的麻地沟遗址出土石制品和动物化石，从技术类型学、功能学及环境因素等角度进行综合研究。运用石制品加工技术和模拟实验，揭示古人类石器技术特点；通过对地层粒度和年代的分析测试，结合遗物空间分布特点，建立遗址形成过程的空间立体模型；借助动物考古、石器微痕研究，提取古人类生存行为信息；采用孢粉、有机碳、C/N比值、易溶盐、磁化率和常量元素地球化学分析等多种测试手段，复原遗址形成的气候和环境背景，在此基础上解读古人类对遗址的使用过程和生存行为。通过与小长梁和东谷坨遗址以及东非Olduvai Gorge及Lake Turkana地区相关遗址mode1石器工业比较研究，探索在早更新世发生中西方人群迁徙、技术传播与交流的动因和规律，对中国早期人类的演化、扩散和技术演化模式等学术问题提供新的视角。

The Nihewan basin, as the earliest and centralized evidence on the human dispersal to East Asia, is the key region on the study of the relationship between early hominin evolution and environment during Early Pleistocene in North China. This project will make a comprehensive study on the archaeological materials consist of lithic artifacts, animal fossils, and bone fragments excavated from new discovered site-Madigou, Nihewan basin since 2007. Major research focuses include the characteristics of lithic technology, function analysis, zooarchaeological analysis, and the environmental factor. Major research methods include lithic technique analysis and lithic experimentation, helping to explain the characteristics of lithic technology. Testing of grain size and paleomagnetic dates combining with the spatial distributed feature of lithic artifacts and fossil fragments for establishing the 3D model on site formation processes of different localities (MDGE-2, MDG-E3, MDG-E5, MDG-E6, and MDG-E7) at Madigou site. The zooarchaeological observation, lithic use-wear analysis can reveal the information of living behaviors adopted by early hominins. The key analysis of the sediments including sporopollen, organic carbon content, the ratio of C/N, soluble salt, magnetic susceptibility, as well as macro-element geochemical analysis will be conducted by the applicants to reconstruct the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes. As a result, an interpretation of occupation processes and behaviors adopted by early hominins at Madigou site will be inferred by the applicants. Lithic technical comparison among Madigou, Xiaochangliang, and Donggutuo in the Nihewan basin, and Oldowan (Mode1) technology of some sites from Olduvai Gorge and Lake Turkana region in East Africa will try to interpret the causation and mode of hominins migration, technical communication and exchange between West and East in Early Pleistocene. In this way, the project will contribute to research on the evolution, dispersal and technical development mode of early hominins in China.