Dissertation: Holocene Human Prey Acquisition in Central Missouri

在R.Lee Lyman博士的指导下，Steve Wolverton先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将从位于密苏里州中部的阿诺德研究洞穴和格雷厄姆洞穴这两个考古遗址中挑选样本，并将其提交进行放射性碳年代测定。他的研究目标是了解处于技术简单的狩猎和采集生存水平的人类如何应对环境变化的挑战，并实现这一准确的年代测定是至关重要的。虽然上一次冰河时代在北美结束于大约12,000年前，但最近的全新世时期的特点是气候发生了显著变化，温度和降雨量发生了显著和长期的变化。从大约8,000到6，00年前，美国中西部经历了一段干旱时期，降雨量减少，气温上升。随着草原取代林地，植被带向东转移。Arnold Research和Graham Caves都包含了长时间的分层考古序列，这些序列跨越了干旱的亚热期和随后的气候改善。这两个遗址都含有丰富的动物群材料，有可能揭示出改变人类饮食和生存策略的可能性。之前研究人员的初步分析表明，这些遗骸表明恶劣的环境条件导致了饮食结构的变化，当地居民被迫扩大生存基础和获取策略，在饮食中加入不太可取的更难获得的东西。通过对这两种组合的详细分析，沃尔弗顿将对这一假设进行评估。由于形态与环境有关，而鹿等动物在压力下不会长得那么大，沃尔弗顿将确定身体大小如何随着时间的推移而变化。他还将重建几个猎物物种的年龄分布，以评估猎人被迫获得越来越年轻的动物这一命题。最后，他将分析一个物种中个体骨骼的频率，以重建消费习惯，这也与相对的食物可获得性有关。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将增加对美国史前历史的了解，并为人类如何适应环境变化提供新的线索。沃尔弗顿正在使用一系列相对较新的分析技术，他的工作将帮助考古学家评估它们的潜力。该项目还将帮助培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. R. Lee Lyman, Mr. Steve Wolverton will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will select samples from two archaeological sites, Arnold Research Cave and Graham Cave - both located in Central Missouri - and submit them for radiocarbon dating. The goal of his research is to understand how human populations at a technologically simple hunting and gathering level of subsistence respond to the challenge of environmental change and to accomplish this accurate dating is essential. Although the last Ice Age ended in North America ca. 12,000 years ago, the more recent Holocene period has been characterized by significant climatic change with marked and prolonged changes in temperature and rainfall. From approximately 8,000 to 6,00 years ago the US Midwest underwent a period of drought with decreased rainfall and higher temperatures. Vegetation zones shifted Eastwards as prairie replaced woodland. Both Arnold Research and Graham Caves contain long stratified archaeological sequences which span this drier Hypsithermal period and the subsequent climatic amelioration. Both sites contain abundant faunal material which have the potential to shed light on changing human diet and subsistence strategies. Preliminary analysis by previous researchers suggest that these remains indicate a dietary shift caused by harsh environmental conditions and that local residents were forced to broaden their subsistence base and acquisition strategies to incorporate less desirable harder to obtain items in their diet. Through detailed analysis of both assemblages, Mr. Wolverton will evaluate this hypothesis. Because morphology is related to environment and animals such as deer do not grow as large in stressed situations, Mr. Wolverton will determine how body size changes over time. He will also reconstruct age profiles for several prey species to evaluate the proposition that hunters were forced to obtain increasingly young animals. Finally he will analyze the frequencies of individual bones within a species to reconstruct consumption practices which also relate to relative food availability.This research is important for several reasons. It will increase understanding of the prehistory of the United States and shed new light on how humans adapt to environmental change. Mr. Wolverton is using a battery of relatively new analytic techniques and his work will help archaeologists evaluate their potential. The project will also assist in training a promising young scientist.