Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Subsistence Change in the Middle to Upper Paleolithic in Southern Greece: Klissoura Cave 1 and its Context within the Mediterranean Basin

在玛丽·斯泰纳博士的指导下，布里特·斯塔科维奇将在希腊伯罗奔尼撒半岛的克里苏拉1号洞穴研究从旧石器时代中期到晚期（大约8万到1.5万年前）人类狩猎策略的变化。克里苏拉洞穴1号包含了希腊迄今为止发掘的最长、最完整的更新世考古序列。到目前为止，人们对希腊旧石器时代的了解仅限于少数几个遗址，而且考古沉积物和随后的挖掘和出版物的质量差异很大。克里苏拉1号洞挖掘得很好，包含了许多完整的文化特征和地层。斯塔科维奇对该遗址动物遗骸的深入分析将大大提高我们对地中海这一地区旧石器时代生存策略的了解。研究人类饮食的长期变化对于理解人类在气候不可预测和营养不确定的世界中生存和繁荣的适应性非常重要。我们可以从过去觅食者的狩猎决定中学到很多东西。在克利苏拉这样一个长时间序列的生存变化可以揭示更大的人口、社会或环境变化。这些变化可以从猎物种类代表的趋势、从猎杀地点运送到大本营的大型猎物的身体部位以及被猎杀动物的年龄来检测。在考虑物种表现的变化时，重要的是要同时考虑小型和大型游戏。小型猎物使用的变化通常是人类饮食变化的一个更敏感的指标，也可能是人类人口密度变化的相关指标。该项目考察了这些人类生存行为变化的指标，特别关注小型游戏，以及潜在的非人为因素，如食肉动物的破坏或风化，这些因素可能会使一些考古材料退化并使组合产生偏差。除了社会科学家感兴趣的研究问题外，该项目将在公共和科学领域产生更广泛的影响。希腊人对他们的过去感兴趣的传统由来已久，但他们很少接触到古典希腊神庙和神殿建成之前的时期。克里苏拉项目的负责人已经与伯罗奔尼撒半岛东部的纳夫普利奥博物馆达成协议，根据克里苏拉洞穴的发现，创建一个关于旧石器时代伯罗奔尼撒半岛占领的公共展览。斯塔科维奇对动物遗骸的研究结果将是展览中重要的一部分。此次克里苏拉洞穴博物馆展览将为希腊人民和众多国际游客提供对过去更深入的了解。从科学的角度来看，克里苏拉项目是一个大规模的合作项目，包括来自希腊、波兰、比利时、西班牙和美国的国际团队，对该遗址的各个方面进行跨学科的研究。国际合作对科学努力至关重要，因为它们使来自不同背景和范式的研究人员能够相互作用和相互学习，并且能够获得如果没有更大的团队努力就无法获得的站点和技术。美国国家科学基金会对该项目的资助将有助于培养一名研究生，并促进在克里苏拉项目上形成的工作关系的发展。

In a dissertation research project conducted under the supervision of Dr. Mary Stiner, Britt Starkovich will study changes in human hunting strategies from the Middle through Upper Paleolithic (about 80,000 to 15,000 years ago) at Klissoura Cave 1 in Peloponnese, Greece. Klissoura Cave 1 contains the longest, most complete Pleistocene archaeological sequence that has been excavated to date in Greece. The Greek Paleolithic has thus far been understood from a small handful of sites, with much variation in the quality of archaeological deposits and subsequent excavations and publications. Klissoura Cave 1 is well-excavated and contains many intact cultural features and strata. Starkovichs in-depth analysis of the animal remains from the site would greatly enhance our knowledge about Paleolithic subsistence strategies in this part of the Mediterranean. Research on long-scale change in human diets is important in understanding adaptations that allowed our species to survive and flourish in a world of unpredictable climates and nutritional uncertainty. Much can be learned about the behaviors of past foragers based on their hunting decisions. Changes in subsistence over a long temporal sequence such as that at Klissoura can shed light on larger demographic, social or environmental changes. These shifts can be detected from trends in prey species representation and the body parts of large prey animals that were transported from a kill site to a home base, and the ages of the animals hunted. In considering changes in species representation, it is important to look at both small and large game. Shifts in small game use are often a more sensitive indicator of human dietary change, and possible related changes in human population densities. This project examines these indicators of changing human subsistence behavior, with special attention to small game, as well as potential non-human factors, such as carnivore damage or weathering, that may have degraded some of the archaeological materials and biased the assemblage. Beyond research questions of interest to social scientists, this project will have broader impacts in both the public and scientific realms. The Greek people have a long tradition of being interested in their past, but they have very little exposure to time periods before the temples and shrines of Classical Greece were built. The directors of the Klissoura project have reached an agreement with the Nafplio Museum, eastern Peloponnese, to create a public exhibition on the Paleolithic occupations of Peloponnese based on the findings from Klissoura Cave. Starkovich's results on the animal remains will be a significant part of in the display. The museum exhibition on Klissoura Cave will provide Greek people and the many international visitors to the museum with a deeper understanding about past. From a scientific standpoint, the Klissoura project is a large-scale collaborative effort, involving an international team from Greece, Poland, Belgium, Spain, and the United States, conducting interdisciplinary research on all aspects of the site. International collaborations are critical to scientific endeavors, because they allow researchers from different backgrounds and paradigms to interact and learn from one another and to have access to sites and technologies that would otherwise be unavailable without the larger group effort. NSF funding of this project will facilitate the training of a graduate student and forward the working relationships formed on the Klissoura project well into the future.