Middle and Upper Paleolithic Research in Southern Belgium: Phase II

在国家科学基金会的支持下，劳伦斯·施特劳斯博士和他的合作者将继续在两个旧石器时代考古遗址进行研究，这两个遗址都位于比利时南部。1990年在这两个地点进行了初步工作，发掘表明存在现场考古材料。特鲁磁铁矿是一个洞穴，其中包含一个延伸的序列，跨越莫斯特德时代(约40,000年前)到随后的旧石器时代晚期。第二个遗址，Huccorgne，位于露天，只有一个考古地平线，可以追溯到大约23,000年前的格拉韦特时代。这标志着一个极端寒冷的时期，当时冰川在欧洲向南延伸。这两个遗址都有丰富的文化资料，包括保存完好的动物群资料。施特劳斯博士和他的合作者将于1992年夏天回到这两个地方，进行考古发掘。然后将对各种材料进行分析，以重建不断变化的环境和人类对环境的适应。考古学家对欧洲的这段时间非常感兴趣，原因有几个。首先，大约40,000年前，文化和人类身体类型都发生了重大转变。制造了独特的穆斯特式石器的尼安德特人从考古记录中消失了。大约在这个时候，第一批解剖学上的现代人(根据骨骼遗骸确定的)首次出现在欧洲。一种不同类型的文化与新的石器技术和做法，如艺术的生产，伴随着这一转变。尽管可以观察到这种变化，但对造成这种变化的潜在过程知之甚少。目前尚不清楚一组人是否取代了另一组人，或者是否进行了原地开发。施特劳斯博士的发掘应该能解释这个问题。它们还应该为人类利用简单的技术来应对恶劣和不断变化的环境的方法提供更多的洞察力。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将提供大量考古学家感兴趣的数据。它将增加我们对现代人的出现以及与之相关的适应策略的理解。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Lawrence Straus and his collaborators will continue research at two paleolithic archaeological sites, both located in Southern Belgium. Preliminary work was conducted at both in 1990 and excavation indicated that in situ archaeological materials were present. Trou Magrite is a cave which contains an extended sequence which spans Mousterian (prior to ca. 40,000 years ago) through following Upper Paleolithic times. A second site, Huccorgne, is located in open air and contains a single archaeological horizon which dates to Gravettian times ca. 23,000 years ago. This marks an extremely cold period when glaciers extended far South in Europe. Both sites are rich in cultural materials including well preserved faunal material. Dr. Straus and his collaborators will return to both in the summer of 1992 and conduct archaeological excavations. A variety of materials will then be analyzed to reconstruct the changing environment and human adaptation to it. Archaeologists are extremely interested in this time period in Europe for several reasons. First, approximately 40,000 years ago a major transition in both culture and human physical type took place. Neanderthal peoples who manufactured distinctive Mousterian type stone tools disappeared from the archaeological record. About this time the first anatomically modern humans (as determined through skeletal remains) first appear in Europe. A different type of culture with a new stone tool technology and practices such as the production of art accompany this transition. Although this change can be observed, the underlying processes responsible for it are little understood. It is unclear whether one group replaced another or whether in situ development took place. Dr. Straus excavations should shed light on this question. They should also provide additional insight into the methods humans with a simple technology employed to cope with a harsh and changing environment. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to a large number of archaeologists. It will increase our understanding of the emergence of modern humans and the adaptive strategies associated with this.