Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Origins and Practice of Southwestern African Pastoralism - Addressing Classic Debates using Ancient DNA

在Richard Klein博士的指导下，凯瑟琳霍斯伯格女士将为她的博士论文收集数据。她的研究目标是了解驯化动物进入南部非洲的过程。直到大约2,000年前，南部非洲的每个人都从野生资源中获得食物。来自北方的家养羊、牛和狗-没有一只是在当地驯养的-的到来使当地的生存战略发生了巨大的转变，本项目将详细审查这一转变。由于牛和其他大型牛科动物（尤其是布法罗）以及狗和豺之间在骨骼学上的相似性，要理解驯化畜牧业进入南部非洲的过程就变得复杂了。为了解决这个问题，研究人员将提取并测序可能代表驯化的标本的线粒体基因组的一小部分。人类学家希望了解文化如何回应和适应变化的环境状况，而变化的一个主要来源是重要的新食物的可用性。很明显，驯化动物大约在2,000年前进入南部非洲，但它们到达的方式尚不确定。一种可能性是，一系列的引进，包括驯化和陶器是由从北方扩张的班图人直接带来的。另一种可能性是，这些元素单独向南扩散并移动，基本上是从一只手到另一只手，而没有新人类群体的同时移动。为了了解狩猎者和采集者如何适应并将这些新元素融入他们的生活方式，区分这两种选择是很重要的，Horsburgh女士将收集的数据提供了这样做的可能性。如果所有人都同时到达，而不是随着时间的推移单独到达，那么很可能所有人都是由新的人类群体聚集在一起的。这个奖项也将促进有前途的研究生的职业生涯和智力发展。

Under the direction of Dr. Richard Klein, Ms. Katherine Horsburgh will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. The goal of her research is to understand the processes by which domesticated animals entered southern Africa. Until about 2,000 years ago everyone is southern Africa obtained their food from wild sources. The arrival of domesticated sheep, cattle and dogs from the North - none were domesticated locally - entailed a dramatic shift in local subsistence strategy and this project will examine this transition in detail. Developing an understanding of this process through which domesticate husbandry arrived in southern Africa is complicated by the osteological similarities between cattle and other large bovids, especially buffalo and between dogs and jackels. To circumvent this problem the researchers will extract and sequence small portions of the mitochondrial genome of specimens that may represent domesticates. The remains of the domesticates will then be radiocarbon dated to construct a secure chronology for the arrival of these species.Anthropologists wish to understand how cultures respond and adapt to changed environmental situations and one major source of change is the availability of important new food items. It is clear that domesticates entered southern Africa roughly 2,000 years ago but the means by which they arrived is uncertain. One possibility is that a set of introductions, including domesticates and pottery was brought directly by Bantu groups which were expanding from the North. Another possibility is that these elements diffused southwards individually and moved, essentially from hand to hand without the concurrent movement of new human groups. To understand how the hunters and gatherers adapted and incorporated these new elements into their lifestyle it is important to distinguish between this two options and the data which Ms. Horsburgh will collect offers the potential do so. If all arrived simultaneously rather than individually over time, it is likely that all were brought in together by new human groups.This award will also further the career and intellectual development of a promising graduate student.