Doctoral Dissertation Research: East African Middle Stone Age Projectile Technology and Modern Human Behavior

在McBrearty博士的监督下，Veronica Waweru将在卡特赖特遗址、展望农场和长期漂移三个肯尼亚中石器时代(MSA)遗址寻找现代人行为的考古标志。确定MSA文物的年龄和技术成熟度，以及制造它们的石材原材料的来源，将是该项目的主要目标。目前，人类学中有一场关于非洲智人最早的成员是否在行为上是现代的重大辩论。MSA在这一论点中具有重要意义，因为在其他非洲遗址上，它被证明包含复杂行为的证据，包括象征主义、自我装饰、贸易网络和技术上的地区差异。遗传和化石证据表明，我们的物种出现在300ka到160ka之间的非洲，而MSA技术的最早日期表明，它出现在同一时间间隔。1965年公布的卡特赖特遗址的K/Ar(K/Ar)值为440 ka，远远超过了其他地方的估计值。该项目将使用更准确和精确的40Ar/39Ar方法来确定遗址的年龄，从而确定MSA的时间深度。技术的复杂性，包括射弹武器的使用，是现代人行为的一个重要特征。弓箭的制造和使用所涉及的一系列技术步骤需要复杂的运动和认知技能，而射弹武器的使用赋予了“远距离死亡”的优势，便于狩猎，而不会与猎物发生近距离对抗。石点出现在本研究将检查的所有三个MSA地点，但它们可能被用来武装短刺长矛(AsSegais)、长投掷长矛(标枪)或箭。为了澄清这个问题，我们将检查这些点的空气动力学特性以及损伤和使用磨损的痕迹，并将其与具有已知实验使用历史的重复组合的石点进行比较。交换网络是复杂行为的一个方面，可能促进了早期现代人类生存策略的灵活性。在当代觅食的人们中，与遥远的贸易伙伴的社会关系是当地资源短缺时期的一种重要的“保险”。这项调查将通过分析文物制造中使用的黑铁矿来寻找关于MSA交换网络的信息。将通过电子微探针分析确定黑麻岩人工制品样品的地球化学成分，并与东非黑岩流动的地球化学组成数据库进行比较。这些数据将用于确定不同类型黑铁矿的来源、它们被交易或运输的距离，从而确定MSA网站占有者的社交网络的地理覆盖范围。该项目将继续促进机构合作，为区域和国际学生提供学习实用实地工作技能的机会。在2003赛季，隶属于东非英国学院的两名乌干达学生是卡特赖特遗址挖掘小组的成员。在拟议的季节期间，受雇于肯尼亚国家博物馆(NMK)的一名地质学本科生和一些当地挖掘机将参与实地工作。该项目还将在NMK考古实验室对内罗毕大学的在职学生和志愿学生进行基本分析技能培训。这项研究的结果将发表在科学期刊和康涅狄格大学的网站上，并将有助于了解人类行为复杂性的起源和进化。

Under the supervision of Dr. McBrearty, Veronica Waweru will seek archaeological markers of modern human behavior at the three Kenyan Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites of Cartwright's Site, Prospect Farm, and Prolonged Drift. Determining the age and technological sophistication of the MSA artifacts, and the sources of stone raw material from which they are made, will be the primary goals of the project. There is at present a major debate in anthropology as to whether the earliest members of Homo sapiens in Africa were behaviorally modern. The MSA is significant in this argument because at other African sites it has been shown to contain evidence of sophisticated behaviors, including symbolism, self-adornment, trade networks, and regional differentiation in technology. Genetic and fossil evidence indicates that our species appeared in Africa between 300 ka and 160 ka and the earliest dates for MSA technology indicates that it appeared in the same time interval. A potassium-argon (K/Ar) date of 440 ka for Cartwright's Site, published in 1965 when the method was still in its infancy, far exceeds estimates obtained elsewhere. This project will employ the more accurate and precise 40Ar/39Ar method to establish the age of the site, and thus the time depth of the MSA.Technological complexity, including the use of projectile weaponry, is an important attribute of modern human behavior. The series of technical steps involved in the manufacture and use of the bow and arrow call for complex motor and cognitive skills, and the use of projectile weapons confers the advantage of "death at a distance," facilitating hunting without close confrontation with the quarry. Stone points occur at all three MSA sites that will be examined in this study, but they may have been used to arm short stabbing spears (assegais), long throwing spears (javelins), or arrows. To clarify this issue, the points' aerodynamic properties and traces of damage and use-wear will be examined and compared with a replicated assemblage of stone points with a known history of experimental use.Exchange networks are an aspect of complex behaviour that may have facilitated flexibility in early modern human subsistence strategies. Among contemporary foraging peoples, social relationships with distant trading partners are an important 'insurance policy' during times of local resource failure. This investigation will seek information on MSA exchange networks through analysis of obsidian used in artifact manufacture. The geochemical composition of a sample of obsidian artifacts will be determined through electron microprobe analysis, and compared with a database of the geochemical make-up of obsidian flows in East Africa. This data will serve to determine the sources of the different types of obsidian, the distances they have been traded or transported, and thus the geographic reach of the social networks of the MSA site occupants. This project will continue to foster institutional co-operation by providing opportunities for regional and international students to learn practical fieldwork skills. In the 2003 season, two Ugandan students attached to the British Institute in Eastern Africa were part of the excavation team at Cartwright's site. During the proposed season, one undergraduate geology student in the employ of the National Museum of Kenya (NMK) and a number of local excavators will participate in field work. The project will also train both employed and volunteer students from the University of Nairobi in basic analytical skills at the NMK archaeology laboratory. Results from this study will be disseminated in scientific journals and the University of Connecticut website and will contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the origin and evolution of behavioral complexity in our species.