Exploratory Research: Towards a Social Geography of the Pyrenees Magdalenian

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，玛格丽特·康基博士和她的合作者将在法国阿列日地区的比利牛斯山脉进行一项调查，以确定马格达莱尼考古遗址的位置。该小组选择了海拔600至900米之间的45公里，并将以系统的方式行走该地区，寻找可能包含考古遗迹的潜在洞穴和岩石避难所，并检查可能暴露在地表的田地和其他开放区域。他们将收集暴露的材料，并在获得许可的情况下挖掘小型试验沟，以确定是否存在原位沉积物。该项目将与一位法国地貌学家合作进行，目标是将文化成分置于更广泛的环境背景中。收集孢粉学（花粉）和沉积学分析样本。在此基础上，人们可以确定这些高地地区在更新世（冰河时代）末期何时开始无冰，以及植被群落是如何发展的。“抹大拉”一词指的是大约14000年前更新世末期西欧繁荣的一种文化。马格达莱纳人的成就水平体现在拉斯科和阿尔蒂梅拉这样的彩绘洞穴、高度发达的骨骼工业以及对少量季节性资源（如迁徙的鲑鱼）的密集生存专业化。这个舞台很可能是在这个动植物驯化的时期建立起来的。康基博士提出的这项研究很重要，因为它检验了抹大拉时代的技术能力水平。虽然在比利牛斯地区发现了几个有壁画的洞穴，但目前还不清楚马格达莱尼人是否有能力长期占领这片艰难的山区。人们对该地区的考古知之甚少，该项目将为未来的研究奠定基础。这项工作很重要，原因有几个。它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据。它还将为人类与环境的相互作用和人类能力的发展提供新的视角。最后，所获得的知识将为一个更大的长期研究项目提供基础。

9313703 Conkey With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Margaret Conkey and her collaborators will conduct a survey to locate Magdalenian archaeological sites in the Pyrenee Mountains of the Ariege region of France. The group has selected a 45 km. stretch between 600 and 900 meters above sea level and will walk this region in a systematic manner to look both for potential caves and rock shelters which may contain archaeological remains and also to examine fields and other open areas where materials may be exposed on the surface. They will make collect exposed material and, if permission can be obtained, excavate small test trenches to determine if in situ deposits are present. The project will be conducted in collaboration with a French geomorphologist with the goal of setting the cultural component into a broader environmental context. Samples for palynological (pollen) and sedimentological analysis will be collected. On this basis one can determine when these upland areas first became ice-free at the end of the Pleistocene (Ice Age) and how vegetation communities developed. The term "Magdalenian" refers to a culture which flourished in Western Europe at the end of the Pleistocene ca 14,000 years ago. The level of Magdalenian achievement is marked by painted caves such as Lascaux and Altimera, by highly developed bone industry and by a intensive subsistence specializations on minor highly seasonal resources such as migrating salmon. It is likely that the stage was set during this period of the domestication of plants and animals. The research proposed by Dr. Conkey is important because it examines the level of Magdalenian technical competence. While several caves with paintings are known from the Pyrenees region, it is unclear whether Magdalenian peoples had the ability to occupy this difficult mountainous terrain on a long term basis. Very little is known about the archaeology of the region and this project will provide the groundwork for future resear ch. This work is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will also shed new light on human-environmental interactions and the development of human competence. Finally, the knowledge gained will provide the base for a larger long term research project.