Dissertation Research: Technological Organization and Variability in the Middle Paleolithic of Southwest Asia

在杰弗里·克拉克博士的指导下，约翰·林德利先生将分析从以色列、约旦、伊拉克和伊朗的考古遗址中发现的石器。这些材料存放在美国的博物馆里，林德利先生将花时间在每一个博物馆里工作。这项研究将为他的博士论文提供数据。将对17个遗址的石器材料进行分析，这些遗址都可以追溯到旧石器时代中期。林德利先生不会把重点放在正式修饰过的工具上，而是放在石器生产的附带副产品上。一些测量和观察结果将被标准化和记录，这将允许重建所使用的制造过程。有了这些信息，就有可能跨越时间和空间追踪技术的变化。林德利先生希望研究的基本问题涉及解剖学上的现代人的发展。有证据表明，在旧石器时代中期，第一批这样的个体出现在近东。数据还表明，这些人与更古老的尼安德特人共存了数千年。林德利的研究将确定两种可能与物理变异相关的技术传统是否也存在。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。这将有助于了解现代人类的起源。所开发的分析技术在许多考古情况下也应该是有用的。最后，该项目将有助于培养一位极有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Geoffrey Clark, Mr. John Lindly will analyze stone tools recovered from archaeological sites in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. These materials are located in U.S. museums and Mr. Lindly will spend time working in each. The study will provide the data for his doctoral dissertation. Lithic materials from 17 sites, all dating to the Middle Paleolithic period, will be analyzed. Mr. Lindly will focus not on formal retouched tools but rather the debitage - the incidental by-products of stone tool production. A number of measures and observations will be standardized and recorded and this will permit reconstruction of manufacturing processes used. With this information it will then be possible to trace changes in technology across both time and space. The basic question Mr. Lindly wishes to examine concerns the development of anatomically modern humans. Evidence indicates that during the Middle Palaeolithic the first such individuals appeared in the Near East. Data also suggests that for many millennia these individuals coexisted with more archaic Neanderthal forms. Mr. Lindly's study will determine whether two technological traditions, which may then be associated with physical variants, also existed. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed light into the origin of modern humans. The analytic techniques developed should also be useful in many archaeological situations. Finally, the project will assist in the development of an extremely promising young scientist.