SGER: Paleobiology and Biogeography of the Kurile Archipelago

该项目旨在调查和测试最近在俄罗斯千岛群岛北部的Onekotan岛上发现的考古遗址。1996年，由美国国家科学基金会资助的生物学家在调查该群岛的生物多样性时，在距离当前海岸线几百米的一个又短又深的溪谷中发现了这一地点。对野外照片和遥感的详细分析表明，这些化石的起源可能是阿伊努人，其年代为全新世早期至中期。千岛群岛目前的生物组成是漫长的生物地理历史的产物，预计人类作为竞争者和捕食者在这一历史中发挥了重要作用。考古沉积物还有可能保存已经灭绝或灭绝的史前动植物的证据。两个并行的团队将系统地绘制和采样Onekotan遗址，这是第一次尝试记录该遗址和周围环境的人类和古生态历史、结构的空间组织以及当地的生态、地质和地貌。此外，第二个小组将对周围岛屿进行较低分辨率的考古和地貌调查，以产生有关阿伊努人更广泛的定居点和生物影响的背景信息。该项目在探索性研究小额助学金计划的指导下得到支持。

DEB-9910410This project is designed to survey and test recently discovered archeological sites on Onekotan Island, Russia, in the northern Kuril Island archipelago. In 1996, NSF- supported biologists surveying the biodiversity of the archipelago found this site in a short and deeply incise stream valley a few hundred meters from the current shoreline. Detailed analysis of field photographs and remote sensing indicates that these may be Ainu in origin, and date from the early-to mid-Holocene. The current biological composition of the Kuril Archipelago is the product of a long biogeographic history, and humans are expected to have played a significant role in this history as competitors and predators. Archeological deposits also have the potential to preserve evidence of prehistoric flora and fauna that have been extirpated or gone extinct. Two concurrent teams will systematically map and sample the Onekotan site in a first attempt to document the human and paleo-ecological history of the site and surroundings, the spatial organization of structures, and the local ecology and geology and geomorphology. In addition, a second team will conduct a lower resolution archeological and geomorphological survey of the surrounding islands to generate contextual information about the broader settlement and biological impact of the Ainu. This project is supported under the guidelines of the Small Grants for Exploratory Research program.