Doctoral Dissertation Research: Investigating Resource Structure and Human Mobility During the Late Pleistocene on the US Southern Plains

在利兰·c·贝门特博士的监督下，亚当·格雷夫斯将检查野牛牙齿中的微量元素含量，以确定它们的迁徙模式。研究人员将对来自南部平原的现代和史前野牛牙齿进行分析，以评估古野牛（北美野牛的一种灭绝形式）与11900年至10200年前人类活动之间的相互关系。这些早期古印第安人通常被推断为小型的高机动性大型狩猎群体，他们越来越依赖追踪野牛群在南部平原生存。野牛是一种迁徙物种，它们每年的确切地理位置可能无法由长途跋涉的猎人预测。因此，了解野牛每年走过的地方，可以让我们了解专门的猎人为拦截这种备受关注的猎物而必须移动的频率和距离。最近的研究表明，动物的运动可以通过检查牙齿和骨骼的化学成分来评估。除了钙和磷酸盐外，牙釉质还含有微量元素，这些元素在矿化过程中被纳入基质。牙齿中的微量元素含量可以与消耗的土壤、植物和水中的微量元素含量相关联，而土壤、植物和水中的微量元素含量在地理尺度上是不同的。本研究将使用激光烧蚀电感耦合等离子体/质谱（LA-ICP/MS）检测来自科罗拉多州、堪萨斯州、新墨西哥州、俄克拉何马州和德克萨斯州的20头现代野牛的牙釉质中13种微量元素的牙齿分布，以确定特定矿物质的地理界限和浓度。此外，还将分析来自南部平原9个早期古印第安人地区的33颗野牛牙齿。现代野牛珐琅将提供一幅元素图，在此基础上评估已灭绝野牛群的活动。了解野牛群聚集的地点可以让史前猎人在这些聚集的地方计划行动或聚会。这项研究将试图通过检查野牛在平原上移动的地点、时间和方向，重建早期古印第安人迁徙的规模和频率。这种分析所采用的方法将对考古学家、生物学家、动物学家和其他对确定任何动物物种（包括人类）在任何地理和年代背景下的饮食和流动性感兴趣的自然科学家有用。地球化学家、植物学家、当地野牛牧场主和州立公园的参与确保了所使用的方法和所了解的人类居住与其资源之间关系的信息将与广泛的受众共享。此外，格雷夫斯将通过出版物、纪录片和公开讲座向广大观众介绍研究结果，从而协助他的专业培训。

Under the supervision of Dr. Leland C. Bement, Adam Graves will examine the trace element content of bison teeth to determine their migratory patterns. Modern and prehistoric bison teeth from the Southern Plains will be analyzed to assess the interrelatedness of Bison antiquus - an extinct form of the North American buffalo - and human movements between 11,900 and 10,200 years ago. These Early Paleoindians are generally inferred to have been small groups of highly mobile large game hunters who increasingly depended on tracking bison herds for subsistence on the Southern Plains. Bison are a migratory species whose exact geographic location each year may not be predictable by hunters who are traveling long distances. Thus, knowing where bison traversed annually provides insight into the frequency and distance specialized hunters had to move to intercept this highly sought prey species.Recent research concludes that animal movement may be assessed by examining tooth and bone chemistry. In addition to calcium and phosphate, enamel also consists of trace elements that are incorporated into the matrix during mineralization. The trace element content in teeth can be correlated with the trace element content of consumed soils, plants, and water which vary across the landscape on a geographical scale. This study will use Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP/MS) to examine the down-tooth distribution of 13 trace elements in enamel of 20 modern Bison bison from Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas to define the geographical limits and concentrations of specific minerals. In addition, 33 Bison antiquus teeth from nine Early Paleoindian locales on the Southern Plains will be analyzed. The modern bison enamel will provide an elemental map upon which the movements of extinct herds will be assessed. The knowledge of where Bison antiquus gathered would have allowed prehistoric hunters to plan movements or meetings around such aggregations. The research will attempt to reconstruct the scale and frequency of early Paleoindian mobility by examining the locations and timing of kills and the direction of bison movement across the plains.The methods employed by this analysis will be of use to archaeologists, biologists, zoologists, and other natural scientists interested in determining any animal species' - including humans' - diet and mobility in any geographic and chronologic context. The involvement of geochemists, botanists, local bison ranchers, and state parks ensures that the methods used and information learned of the relationship between human settlement and their resources will be shared with a wide audience. Further, Graves will dessiminate the results of the research through publications, documentaries, and public lectures to a widespread audience thus assisting in his professional training.