Investigation of Levantine Mousterian Sites

在国家科学基金会的支持下，唐纳德亨利博士将 继续他在约旦南部的考古研究。他将 在三个分层的遗址进行挖掘，这些遗址被证明具有丰富的考古价值。 仍然存在。它们所含的材料可归因于 “莫斯特”文化传统与上层文化有着千丝万缕的联系 约会到CA。六万五千年前。都有丰富的文化内涵 仍然存在。工作将集中在一个块（约45平方米） Tor Faraj的开挖，包含一个大的深度（+3.5m） Levantine Mousterian存款。顶部80厘米。存款 显示壁炉和灰透镜定义三个“生活楼层。“在 除了分析石器和动物群遗骸外，亨利博士和 他的同事们将研究 沉积物以及基质本身。该团队的目标是 重建并记录变化的环境， 在这种背景下的适应性。 许多人类学家对何时和 解剖学上的现代人类是在哪里出现的， 遍布新旧世界虽然最新的数据 指出非洲起源，近东一直是重点， 由于“现代”的明显混合， 更“古老”的形式以及考古遗迹 每个人都有自己的特点。“Mousterian”一词指的是 石器的传统和文化，在近东，北 非洲和欧洲，是前现代的最后一个特征 forms.考古学家希望了解这些群体是如何 社会组织和他们遵循的生存策略 因为它们为现代人类的出现奠定了基础的 亨利博士将挖掘的遗址可以追溯到公元前1000年， 因此与此直接相关 问题它们的文化遗迹也极为丰富， 显然未受干扰的生活楼层应该会产生 社会信息。 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。将加大 我们对导致 解剖学意义上的现代人类它将为我们提供新的视角， 近东的史前史，并提供许多人感兴趣的数据， 考古学家

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Donald Henry will continue his archaeological research in southern Jordan. He will excavate at three stratified sites proven rich in archaeological remains. The materials they contain are attributable to the "Mousterian" cultural tradition and the upper layers of one have been dated to ca. 65,000 years ago. All are rich in cultural remains. Work will center on a block (ca 45 square meters) excavation of Tor Faraj which contains a large deep (+3.5m) Levantine Mousterian deposit. The top 80 cm. of the deposit display hearths and ash lenses defining three "living floors." In addition to analysis of lithic and faunal remains, Dr. Henry and his colleagues will study the pollen and phytoliths contained in the sediments as well as the matrix itself. The team's goal is to reconstruct and date the changing environment and understand Mousterian adaptation within this context. Many anthropologists are interested in the question of when and where anatomically modern humans emerged and how these groups spread across both the Old and New Worlds. While most recent data points to an African origin, the Near East has been the focus of much attention because of the apparent intermixing of "modern" and more "ancient" forms as well as the archaeological remains which characterize each. The term "Mousterian" refers to the stone tool tradition and culture which, in the Near East, North Africa and Europe, characterizes the last of the pre-modern forms. Archaeologists wish to understand how these groups were socially organized and what subsistence strategies they followed since they set the stage from which modern humans emerged. The sites which Dr. Henry will excavate date from the end of the Mousterian period and are thus directly relevant to this question. They are also extremely rich in cultural remains and the apparently undisturbed living floors should yield valuable social information. This research is important for several reasons. It will increase our understanding of the factors which led to the emergence of anatomically modern humans. It will shed new light on the prehistory of the Near East and provide data of interest to many archaeologists.