Dissertation Research: Modern Analog Study of Landscape Vegetation Contexts across the Lowermost Bed II Olduvai Basin

在Robert Blumenschine博士的指导下，Sandi Copeland女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她的最终目标是重建奥杜威峡谷的植被模式，坦桑尼亚在一个时间间隔约。1.7百万年前由Blumenschine博士指导的一个大规模考古项目集中在广泛暴露的沉积物上，这些沉积物可以追溯到这个时间范围。该小组收集了大量的动物群和人工制品遗骸样本，这些样本有可能深入了解早期原始人类如何利用景观。然而，为了了解早期人类的行为，有必要将这些数据投影到详细的景观重建中，因为只有当人们了解树木，开阔的草地和潜在的可食用食物物种的分布时，才有可能重建生存策略。虽然有一些数据，如土壤碳酸盐样品，但这些数据不足以实现预期目标。 通过创新的研究设计，MS Copeland将研究现代模拟景观。基于与奥杜威的地质相似性，她在坦桑尼亚确定了三个地区，这些地区与古景观的不同部分具有基本特征。她将使用取样技术对这些现今环境进行仔细的植被分析。她将专注于资源，如潜在的植物食物和沉睡的树木假定的重要性，以确定他们的密度，分布和协会。她还将收集地质数据，这将使她能够“钉”在奥杜威景观的详细现代模式。 这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。这将有助于开发一种可在世界许多地方的许多环境中应用的方法工具。它将为非洲一个典型遗址的早期原始人类行为提供新的线索。它还将协助培养一名有前途的青年科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Robert Blumenschine, MS Sandi Copeland will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. Her ultimate goal is the reconstruct the vegetation patterns at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania during a time interval ca. 1.7 million years ago. A large scale archaeological project directed by Dr. Blumenschine has focused on broadly exposed sediments which date to this time horizon. The group has collected large samples of both faunal and artifact remains which have the potential to provide insight into how early hominids utilized the landscape. However to understand early human behavior it is necessary to project these data on a detailed landscape reconstruction because only when one understands the distributions of trees, open grassland and potentially edible food species is it possible to reconstruct subsistence strategy. Although some data such as soil carbonate samples are available, these are not sufficient to accomplish the desired goal. With an innovative research design MS Copeland will examine modern analog landscapes. Based on geological similarity with Olduvai, she has located three regions in Tanzania which share essential characteristics with different parts of the paleo-landscape. She shall conduct careful vegetation analyses of these present day environments using sampling techniques. She will focus on resources such as potential plant foods and sleeping trees of presumed importance to early hominids to determine their density, distribution and association. She will also collect geological data which will allow her to `pin` the detailed modern patterns on the Olduvai landscape. This research is important for several reasons. It will help to develop a methodological tool which may be applied in many environments in many parts of the world. It will shed new light on early hominid behavior at a classic African site. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.