Dissertation Research - Human Migration in Early Neolithic Europe

在道格拉斯·普莱斯博士的指导下，R·本特利先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将参与德国莱茵河流域一处早期农业遗址的发掘。然后，他将对从这一考古事件和其他考古事件中发现的人类骨骼材料进行锶和铅同位素分析，这些事件可以追溯到同一时期和文化。这项研究的目的是了解西欧驯化的农作物、动物和固定生活方式的出现过程。虽然科学家们认识到，小麦、大麦和家养牛、绵羊和山羊等作物最早出现在近东，后来又向西传播到欧洲，但这种运动背后的机制尚不清楚。在许多地区，这种驯养动物突然出现--可能是在一代人的时间里，并伴随着一种独特的陶器类型，称为线性带状陶瓷(LBK)。关于迁徙的是技术本身还是实际人口，存在着激烈的辩论。许多考古学家认为，LBK现象反映了人的实际运动--一群在西欧大部分地区迅速传播的拓荒者。其他研究人员指出，这一地区已经有狩猎和聚集的人口居住，因此远不是没有人类的存在。他们辩称，移动的不是人本身，而是物体和对如何使用它们的理解。根据这种模式，当地的猎人和采集者学会了如何种植庄稼、放牧牲畜和制作陶器。为了帮助解决这个问题，本特利先生将检查莱茵河流域LBK遗址的一系列骨骼，并对骨骼和牙齿进行锶和铅同位素分析。人体从食物中吸收这两种元素，锶和可能的铅同位素的比例反映了它们在食物本身中的丰度。这反过来又受到底层基岩地质的强烈影响。因为牙齿是在人的生命早期形成的，不会随着时间的推移而改变，所以它们反映了一个人早年所在地区的比例。然而，骨骼随着时间的推移而重塑，骨骼同位素比率反映了一个人生命的后期。本特利先生指出，发现LBK遗址的莱茵河泛滥平原的锶同位素值与之前存在狩猎和采集人口的周围高地的锶同位素值有很大不同。通过对这些比率的分析，应该可以确定LBK人的一生是否生活在这个地区，或者他们是否来自其他地方。对结果的性别分析也应该提供对可能的婚姻模式的洞察。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将揭示史前欧洲的文化动态。这将有助于发展锶同位素分析工具在考古问题上的应用。它还将探索以同样的方式使用铅同位素分析的可能性。最后，它将有助于培养一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Douglas Price, Mr. R.Bentley will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will participate in the excavation of an early agricultural site in the Rhine Valley, Germany. He will then conduct strontium and lead isotope analyses on human skeletal material recovered from this and other archaeological occurrences which date to the same time period and culture. The goal of the research is to understand the process which led to the appearance of domesticated crops, animals and a settled way of life in Western Europe. While scientists recognize that crops such as wheat and barley and domesticated cattle sheep and goats first appeared in the Near East and at some later date spread westwards into Europe, the mechanism which underlies this movement is unclear. In many regions such domesticates appear suddenly - possibly within the span of a single generation and are accompanied by a distinctive pottery type termed "linear band ceramic" (LBK) A lively debate exists concerning whether it was technology itself or actual populations which moved. Many archaeologists believe that the LBK phenomenon reflects the actual movement of people - a group of pioneers who spread rapidly across much of Western Europe. Other researchers note that this area was already inhabited by hunting and gathering populations and thus far from devoid of a human presence. They argue that it was not people themselves who moved but rather objects and an understanding of how to use them. According to this model local hunters and gathers learned how to plant crops, herd livestock and make pottery. The observed changes in settlement pattern were thus the result of new technology and subsistence practices.To help resolve this issue, Mr. Bentley will examine a series of skeletons from LBK sites in the Rhine valley and conduct both strontium and lead isotope analyses of bone and teeth. The human body absorbs both elements from food and the proportions of strontium and likely lead isotopes reflects their abundance in the food itself. This in turn is strongly affected by the underlying bedrock geology. Because teeth form early in an individual's life and do not remodel over time, they reflect the ratio in the region where one's early years were spent. Bone however remodels over time and bone isotope ratios reflect a later period in an individual's life. Mr. Bentley has noted that strontium isotopic values in the Rhine floodplain where LBK sites are found, differ significantly from those in the surrounding highlands where pre-existing hunting and gathering populations were located. Through analyses of these ratios, it should be possible to determine whether LBK people lived their entire lives within this area or whether they came from elsewhere. Analysis of results by sex should also provide insight into possible marriage patterns.This research is important for several reasons. It will shed light on cultural dynamics in prehistoric Europe. It will help to develop the application strontium isotope analysis tool to archaeological questions. It will also explore the possibility of using lead isotope analysis in the same way. Finally, it will contribute to training a promising young scientist.