Archaeological Implications of Bofi Foraging

与近亲和无关的成年人分享肉类被认为是人类进化过程中发生的最重要的饮食变化之一。尽管它很重要，但对于祖先原始人何时、为什么或如何分享，还没有达成共识。问题不仅在于我们无法自信地从考古记录中辨别出不同的分享行为，还在于缺乏一个理论框架来理解分享是如何运作的以及为什么分享。在国家科学基金会的支持下，Karen Lupo博士和一组研究人员将对BofI采集者之间的肉类分享进行两个季节的考古研究。博菲人居住在中非共和国中部恩戈托森林保护区郁郁葱葱的森林地区，他们的大部分食物都是通过狩猎和采集来获取的。这项研究是在一个更大的理论背景下进行的，它认为家庭之间和不相关的成年人之间的分享是在实现非常不同的目标。提供食物，或在家庭成员之间分享，提高了近亲的生存能力。但与无关的成年人分享猎物的目的是提高猎人的社会地位。该理论预测，猎人会根据他们的总体目标(供应或地位提升)而改变他们对猎物的选择。研究小组将使用直接观察、线人采访和从不同猎人及其家庭收集的动物骨骼来测试这一理论的显著方面。这些技术将使研究小组能够收集定量数据，了解猎人获得了什么，以及近亲和无关的成年人分享和消费了多少肉类。通过这些技术收集的数据将用于调查以下研究问题：1)分享肉类是否可预测地因猎物类型而异？如果是这样的话，是什么特征预测了哪些猎物会与家人和无关的成年人分享？2)猎人对不同类型猎物的追逐努力是否取决于他们的总体目标(供养家庭或提高地位)？3)不同的分享行为与考古记录之间有什么实质性联系？这项研究的重要性是深远的。这个项目将是第一个在当代觅食者中进行的关于猎物选择和肉类分享的系统和定量研究。这项研究还将检验和识别不同的分享策略之间的联系，如动物的骨骼所反映的，和材料记录。后一点对于考古调查尤其重要。该项目将民族考古研究与理论框架相结合，将有助于解释分享如何以及为什么在当代环境中运作。通过延伸，它将为祖先之间分享的进化提供重要的新见解。最后，人们对博菲觅食者知之甚少。到目前为止，只有一项其他研究在这一领域进行过。这项研究将扩大目前对当代觅食生态学的理解。

Meat-sharing with close kin and unrelated adults is believed to be one ofthe most significant dietary changes to occur in the course of humanevolution. Despite its importance there is no consensus on when, why or howsharing emerged among ancestral hominids. The problem lies not only in ourinability to confidently identify different sharing behaviors from thearchaeological record, but the lack of a theoretical framework forunderstanding how and why sharing operates. With National Science Foundationsupport Dr. Karen Lupo and a team of researchers will conduct two seasons ofethnoarchaeological research on meat-sharing among Bofi foragers. The Bofioccupy lush forested regions of the Ngotto Forest Reserve in the CentralAfrican Republic and procure most of their food by hunting and gathering.The research is guided by a larger theoretical context which views sharingamong family and between unrelated adults as fulfilling very differentgoals. Provisioning, or sharing among family members, enhances thesurvivability of close kin. But sharing with unrelated adults is aimed atenhancing a hunters social status. The theory predicts that hunters willvary their choice of prey depending upon their overall goal (provisioning orstatus enhancement). The research team will use direct observations,informant interviews and animal bone collections from different hunters andtheir households to test salient aspects of this theory. These techniqueswill allow the team to collect quantitative data on what hunters procure andhow much of it is shared and consumed by close family and unrelated adults.Data collected with these techniques will be used to investigate thefollowing research questions: 1) Does meat-sharing vary predictably by prey type? If so, whatcharacteristics predict which prey will be shared with family and unrelatedadults? 2) Do hunters vary their pursuit effort of different types of prey dependingon their overall goal (provision family or enhance status)? 3) What is the material link between different sharing behaviors and the archaeological record?The importance of this research is far-reaching. This project will be thefirst systematic and quantitative study of prey choice and meat-sharing everconducted among contemporary foragers. This research will also examine andidentify the links between different sharing strategies, as reflected byanimal bones, and the material record. This latter point is particularlyimportant for archaeological investigations. The project combinesethnoarchaeological research with a theoretical framework that will helpexplain how and why sharing operates in a contemporary setting. Byextension, it will provide important new insights into the evolution ofsharing among ancestral hominids. Finally, very little is known about theBofi foragers. Thus far, only one other study has ever been conducted inthis area. This research will expand current understanding of contemporaryforager ecology.