Dissertation Research: Economic Strategies and Human Interaction in the Levantine Early Neolithic

Ian Kuijt先生将在哈佛大学人类学教授Ofer Bar-Yosef博士的指导下，为他的博士论文收集数据。Kuijt先生将以在伊拉克ed-Dubb新石器时代早期遗址进行的初步发掘为基础，该遗址位于约旦Ajlun西北部，位于海拔550米的广阔森林地区。先前的研究表明，这个洞穴遗址大约在1万年前有人居住，它包含一个椭圆形的石头结构，上面有多个泥层，表明曾经有人居住过。Kuijt先生和他的同事们将进行一个季节的研究，包括在洞穴内继续挖掘，在洞穴外和邻近洞穴前进行有限的调查和挖掘。在洞穴内，宽阔的水平暴露将划定和挖掘两个石头结构（第三个已经暴露）。将收集和分析植物和动物资料，这些资料将提供基本生存和职业季节的信息。将检查石器材料，以确定起源来源，并重建居民如何在景观上移动。近东的新石器时代早期可以追溯到大约1万年前，标志着旧世界第一次对植物和动物的驯化。考古学的高度关注集中在约旦河谷内的低洼地区，至少在那里，这一过程似乎部分发生过。然而，很少有人知道这些遗址是如何适应更广泛的区域背景的，例如，这些第一批农学家是否完全依赖于新的粮食作物，或者他们是否将它们纳入了包括狩猎和采集在内的更广泛的季节性活动中。如果是前者，那么就不清楚低地农人是如何与来自高海拔地区的狩猎和采集人群相互作用的。在这种情况下，伊拉克ed-Dubb遗址既重要又独特，因为它位于这样一个高地地区。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将提供一个未知地区/时期的考古数据，这将引起广大科学家的兴趣。它将增加我们对复杂的以农业为基础的社会是如何出现的理解，并将有助于培训一位极有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Ofer Bar-Yosef, Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University, Mr. Ian Kuijt will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. Mr. Kuijt will build upon preliminary excavations conducted at the early Neolithic site of 'Iraq ed-Dubb which is located northwest of Ajlun, Jordan and situated in an extensively forested region 550 meters above sea level. Previous work indicates that this cave site was occupied ca. 10,000 years ago and that it contains an oval stone structures with multiple mud floors, indicating repeated occupation. Mr. Kuijt and his colleagues will conduct one season of research which combines continued excavations inside the cave with limited survey and excavations outside of it and in front of neighboring caves. Within the cave wide horizontal exposure will delineate and excavate two of the stone structures (the third has already been exposed). Floral and faunal materials will be collected and analyzed and these will provide information on both basic subsistence and season of occupation. Lithic materials will be examined to determine sources of origin and to reconstruct how the inhabitants moved over the landscape. The early Neolithic in the Near East dates to ca. 10,000 years ago and marks the first domestication of plants and animals in the Old World. Intensive archaeological attention has been focussed on the low lying areas within the Jordan Valley where this process, in part at least, appears to have taken place. Little is known however how such sites fit into a broader regional context and whether, for example, these first agriculturalists relied completely on new food crops or whether they incorporated them into a broader seasonal round which included hunting and gathering. If the former is the case then it is unclear how lowland agriculturalists interacted with hunting and gathering populations from higher elevations. In this context, the site of 'Iraq ed-Dubb is both important and unique because of its location in just such a highland area. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide archaeological data from an unknown area/period which will be of interest to a wide group of scientists. It will increase our understanding of how complex agriculturally based societies emerged and will assist in the training of an extremely promising young scientist.