Doctoral Dissertation Research: Testing the Neanderthal Replacement Model from an Ecological Perspective

在Robert Whallon的指导下，Eugene Morin将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将继续分析圣塞塞尔和昆凯的动物材料，这两个地点位于法国西南部，记录了旧石器时代中期到晚期的过渡（大约在距今4万到3.2万年前之间），根据许多人的说法，这一时期与现代人取代尼安德特人的时期相对应。在这短暂的时间里，发生了许多生物和文化上的变化。在文化方面，最值得注意的是艺术和骨技术的出现，风格图案的增加，以及石器的多样化和标准化。利用一套主要基于动物群的材料预测，该研究对西欧尼安德特人被取代的假设进行了检验和测试。考虑到这一时期法国西南部环境的低生产力，早期现代人入侵已经被尼安德特人占领的地区，当地人口的增加将远远超过环境的承载能力，导致人口过剩。基于这一论点，有人认为尼安德特人重新定义了他们的生态位，以避免与现代人直接竞争。这将以一种可预测的方式反映在考古动物群中。为了验证这一假设，进行了两种类型的比较。首先，我们应该观察到，由于现代人类的入侵，晚期尼安德特人群体中高热量返回物种（如大型食草动物）的减少，以及对尸体的更有效利用，可能会增加食腐。总之，与早期现代人类的动物群组合相比，晚期尼安德特人的组合应该具有显著的生存压力。圣塞塞尔和昆凯是进行尼安德特人和现代人适应能力详细研究的理想地点，因为后者已经被仔细挖掘，而且动物骨头保存得很好。这项研究将有助于更好地了解人类的起源，特别是关于人口移徙所涉及的社会、人口和经济方面之间的相互作用。总的来说，这个项目将加深对狩猎采集者的人类学研究，并增加我们对人类进化中物种形成过程的知识体系。在试图严格检验从替代模型中得出的假设时，这种研究具有很大的潜力，有助于解决关于旧石器时代中晚期过渡性质的争论，因为它的假设和衔接论点被清楚地暴露和检验了。这笔拨款还将对培养一位非常有前途的年轻科学家作出重大贡献。

Under the direction of Robert Whallon, Eugene Morin will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will continue to analyze faunal material from Saint-Cesaire and Quincay, two sites located in southwestern France documenting the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition (roughly between 40,000 and 32,000 BP), an episode corresponding, according to many, to the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans. Numerous changes, biological as well as cultural, occurred during this short time period. In its cultural dimension, most notable are the emergence of art and bone technology, an increase of stylistic patterning, and the diversification and standardization of stone tools. Using a set of material predictions based largely on fauna, the research examines and tests the presumed replacement of Neanderthals in Western Europe. Given the low productivity of the environment in southwestern France during this time period, the incursion of early modern humans into an area already occupied by Neanderthals would have increased the local population far beyond the carrying capacity of the environment and led to overpopulation. Based on this argument, it is suggested that the Neanderthals redefined their ecological niche in order to avoid direct competition with modern humans. This would be reflected, in a predictable manner, in archaeological faunal assemblages. Two types of comparisons are carried out to test this hypothesis. First, we should observe a decline, as a result of the modern human incursion, of high caloric return species (e.g. large herbivores) in late Neanderthal assemblages as well as more efficient utilization of carcasses and, possibly an increase in scavenging. In sum, compared to early modern human faunal assemblages, late Neanderthal assemblages should be characterized by significant subsistence stress. Saint-Cesaire and Quincay are ideal sites to conduct a detailed study of Neanderthal and modern human adaptation since the latter have been carefully excavated and because animal bone is well preserved.This research will contribute to a better understanding of human origins, especially in regard of the interaction between the social, demographic, and economic aspects involved in the migration of a population. At the general level, this project will deepen the anthropological study of hunter-gatherers and add to our body of knowledge on speciation processes in human evolution. In trying to strictly test a hypothesis derived from the replacement model, this kind of study has great potential to contribute in resolving the debates on the nature of the Middle/Upper Paleolithic transition since its assumptions and bridging arguments are clearly exposed and tested.The grant will also contribute significantly to training a very promising young scientist.