Social, Economic and Technological Change on the Central East European Plain

一个国际研究小组将在东欧中部平原的一组考古遗址上研究4万至3万年前文化变迁的速度。这段时间代表了人类史前史的一个关键阶段，因为在4万年前从非洲扩展到欧洲的解剖学现代人类在相对凉爽和非生产性的环境中开发了创新技术和组织结构。在3万年前之后，欧亚大陆北方许多地区的定居点在规模和复杂性上都有了显著的增长（这些定居点在欧洲被称为格拉维特时期）。这种模式反映了通过技术和组织创新对环境的控制不断积累，最终过渡到乡村农业和文明。但4万至3万年前的早期阶段仍然知之甚少。在这段时间里，是新技术的逐渐积累和经济的扩张，还是随着格拉维特时代的到来，变化突然加速？更广泛地说，解剖学上的现代人在北方欧亚大陆定居的早期阶段，创新和文化变化的模式是什么？为了解决这些问题，将在俄罗斯顿河Kostenki附近的一组露天考古遗址进行为期两年的实地和实验室研究。这些遗址和东欧平原中部的其他遗址是3万年前格拉维特人定居的主要地点，但科斯坚基遗址也包含4万至3万年前的分层占领层。在这些遗址中的几个新的挖掘将集中在这些层和重建在此期间发生的文物，特征和相关的植物和动物碎片的变化。经济和饮食的变化不仅将通过分析动物遗骸，而且还将通过分析植物材料和扩大对人骨的稳定同位素研究来解决。将特别强调通过对骨头、鹿角和象牙物品的显微镜研究来分析非石头技术。这项研究将提高我们对社会，经济和技术变革模式的理解，这些变革是人类史前史中的一个主要门槛，即3万年前出现的大型复杂的格拉维特人定居点。更广泛地说，它将揭示现代人在占领欧亚北方的关键早期阶段的行为和创新能力。该研究还将为大量研究生和本科生提供培训机会，并将加强美国和俄罗斯研究人员在多个学科之间的国际合作。与以往由国家科学基金会资助在Kostenki进行的研究一样，研究结果将通过专业出版物和大众媒体以及外联活动传播。

An international team of researchers will examine the pace of culture change between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago at a group of archaeological sites on the central East European Plain. This time period represents a critical phase of human prehistory as anatomically modern humans who had expanded out of Africa into Europe prior to 40,000 years ago developed innovative technologies and organizational structures in a comparatively cool and unproductive environment. After 30,000 years ago, settlements in many parts of northern Eurasia exhibit a dramatic increase in size and complexity (these settlements are known in Europe as the Gravettian). The pattern reflects a steadily accumulating command of the environment through technological and organizational innovations that underlie the eventual transition to village agriculture and civilization. But the earlier phase between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago remains poorly known and understood. Was there a gradual accumulation of novel technologies and expansion of the economy during this interval, or was there a sudden acceleration of change with the advent of the Gravettian? More broadly, what was the pattern of innovation and culture change among anatomically modern humans during the early phase of their settlement in northern Eurasia?In order to address these questions, a two-year program of field and laboratory research will be undertaken at a group of open-air archaeological sites near Kostenki on the Don River in Russia. These and other sites on the central East European Plain are a major locus of Gravettian settlement after 30,000 years ago, but the Kostenki sites also contain stratified occupation layers that date to between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago. New excavations at several of these sites will focus on these layers and the reconstruction of changes in artifacts, features, and associated plant and animal debris that took place during this interval. Changes in economy and diet will be addressed not only with the analysis of animal remains, but also of plant materials and expanded stable-isotope studies of human bone. Special emphasis will be placed on the analysis of non-stone technologies through microscopic studies of bone, antler, and ivory items. The research will improve our understanding of the pattern of social, economic, and technological change that precedes a major threshold in human prehistory the emergence of large and complex Gravettian settlements after 30,000 years ago. More generally, it will shed light on the behavior of modern humans and their capacity for innovation during this critical early phase of their occupation of northern Eurasia. The research also will provide training opportunities to a large number of students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and will strengthen international collaboration among American and Russian researchers from several disciplines. As in the case of past NSF-funded research at Kostenki, the results will be disseminated through professional publication and the popular media, as well as through outreach activities.