Dissertation Improvement Grant Proposal: The Ecology of Oldowan Lithic Technology: Oldowan Behavior at Kanjera South and Koobi Fora

在J. W. K. Harris博士的指导下，David R. Braun先生将对上新世末期（~2 Ma）时期的石器文物生态学进行博士研究。他将在以拥有大量早期人类化石和人工制品而闻名的世界著名的库比福拉地区的新地点展开挖掘工作。这些发掘将与早期人类考古学中最令人兴奋的新发现之一——南坎杰拉——进行比较。坎杰拉南部遗址有几千块保存完好的骨头和手工艺品。该遗址可能有动物屠宰和长途运输文物的证据，在阐明早期人类行为的潜力方面，与坦桑尼亚的奥杜瓦伊地区不相上下。布劳恩先生将比较这些遗址对早期人类行为的解释，通过石器分析的窗口来观察。石器是早期人类与其环境接触的行为痕迹。库比福拉的古环境重建描绘了一幅湖泊和河流主导的生态系统，以及沼泽林地的画面。同时，坎杰拉被改造为开放的稀树草原。布劳恩分析的一个重点将是比较上新世末期不同环境下早期人类的行为。布劳恩对这些人工制品的分析将结合各种新技术来理解石器对这些原始人类的重要性。为了确定早期人类收集石头制作人工制品的距离，将使用地球化学技术（能量色散x射线荧光）将人工制品与岩石露头联系起来。这项分析是美国研究人员与内罗毕大学核科学研究所之间重要合作的结果。此外，他的分析将结合石器文物的数字成像。这些技术以前还没有在如此古老的材料上使用过。数字成像分析的初步结果表明，早期人类的范围模式和景观利用的进化。了解早期人类行为的关键是调查石器的需求和使用。布劳恩先生的分析将使用实验推导的模型来测试早期人类使用石器的最佳理论。通过应用进化生态框架来研究不同环境下的人工制品组合，我们有可能进一步了解早期人类行为的异质性。该项目的支持将为人类行为的进化提供重要的新见解，并进一步推动致力于研究非洲考古学的学生的职业生涯。

Under the direction of Dr. J. W. K. Harris, Mr. David R. Braun will conduct his doctoral research on the ecology of stone artifacts in the time period known as the terminal Pliocene (~2 Ma). He will initiate excavations at new localities in the world famous Koobi Fora region known for its wealth of early human fossils and artifacts. These excavations will provide a comparison with one of the most exciting new finds in early human archaeology: Kanjera South. The site of Kanjera south has several thousand well-preserved bones and artifacts. With possible evidence of animal butchery and long distance transport of artifacts this site is on par with the Olduvai localities of Tanzania in its potential to elucidate early human behavior. Mr. Braun will compare interpretations of early human behaviors at these sites, as viewed through the window of lithic (stone tool) analysis. Lithics are a behavioral trace of the interface between early humans and their environments. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions at Koobi Fora paint a picture of a lake- and river-dominated ecosystem, with areas of swampy woodlands. Meanwhile, Kanjera is reconstructed as an open savannah grassland. A focus of Mr. Braun's analysis will be to compare the behaviors of early humans in the variable environments of the terminal Pliocene.Mr. Braun's analysis of these artifacts will incorporate various new techniques to understand the importance of stone tools to these proto-humans. To determine the distances that early humans traveled to collect stones to make artifacts geochemical techniques (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Flourescence) will be used to link artifacts to rock outcrops. This analysis is the result of an important collaboration between American researchers and the Institute of Nuclear Science at the University of Nairobi. Furthermore, his analysis will incorporate digital imaging of stone artifacts. These techniques have not previously been employed on materials of such antiquity. Preliminary results from digital imaging analysis suggest evolution in early human ranging patterns and landscape use.Crucial to an understanding of early human behavior is investigating the need and use of stone tools. Mr. Braun's analysis will approach stone artifacts using experimentally derived models to test theories of optimality in early human stone tool use. By applying an evolutionary ecological framework to the study of artifact assemblages in varying environments it is possible to further our understanding of the heterogeneity of early human behavior. The support of this project will provide vital new insights into the evolution of human behavior and further the career of a student committed to the study of African archaeology.