Test Excavations at MUGHR EL-HAMAMAH, AJLUN DISTRICT, JORDAN: A Newly Identified Paleolithic Cave Site in the E. Jordan Valley

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，Aaron Stutz博士、Liv Nilsson Stutz博士和一个跨学科研究小组将于2010年夏季在约旦Ajlun省Mughr el-Hamamah的史前洞穴遗址进行试验挖掘。直到2006年，考古学家们在最近的一次实地调查中发现了“鸽子洞”，随后，在2008年，斯图茨博士和他的同事们绘制了“鸽子洞”的地图，并发现了所有地表文物。在主洞室和阶地表面发现了各种各样的燧石刀片和尖，以及燧石工具制造废料。这些文物提供了重要的指示，保证密集的测试挖掘。表面材料显示了埋藏的、分层的考古层的潜力，可以追溯到旧石器时代中期（250,000 - 50,000 BP[现在]）、旧石器时代晚期（50,000-20,000 BP）和旧石器时代晚期（20,000-12,000 BP）。在西南亚，这个广泛的时间范围包括（按时间顺序）：解剖学上来自非洲的现代人的出现；尼安德特人从欧洲向南扩张；随后尼安德特人的解剖结构从现代人的变异库中消失；解剖学意义上的现代人——以及他们组成的旧石器时代晚期社会——从南黎凡特开始的大规模扩张；以及长期定居、食物储存和园艺的出现。在Mughr el-Hamamah的发掘可能有助于解释这些重大发展是如何以及为什么在非洲、亚洲和欧洲的十字路口展开的。Mughr el-Hamamah位于约旦的一个初步探索区，地理位置优越，可以对智人的生物文化进化有更高的理解。Mughr el-Hamamah只受到非侵入性调查。2010年的测试挖掘由美国国家科学基金会的考古和体质人类学高风险研究项目支持，旨在评估该遗址史前沉积物的保存和地层学。如果证据确凿，那么Mughr el-Hamamah的考古沉积物就有可能阐明形成现代人类生物变异的生物文化进化过程，同时也可以构建人口、社会网络和技术的长期趋势。调查Mughr el-Hamamah的广泛影响是双重的。首先，在地理上关键的地区调查一个新的旧石器时代遗址的智力价值与当代关注的更广泛的问题有关：为什么人属对我们的生态系统表现出周期性的、长期的、不断增加的影响，人口和文化进程在这些影响中发挥了怎样的作用？其次，对Mughr el-Hamamah的拟议调查是一个长期项目的一部分，该项目旨在记录和挖掘约旦Ajlun地区的洞穴和露天遗址。该项目将有助于为约旦阿杰伦地区和约旦河谷地区的文化资源管理和教育建立地方和区域支助。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Aaron Stutz, Dr. Liv Nilsson Stutz, and an interdisciplinary research team will conduct summer 2010 test excavations at the prehistoric cave site of Mughr el-Hamamah, Ajlun Governate, Jordan. Unknown to archaeologists until it was identified by a recent field survey in 2006, "The Caves of the Doves" was subsequently mapped - with any surface artifacts identified and collected - by Dr. Stutz and colleagues in 2008. A diverse assemblage of flint blades and points, along with tell-tale flint tool manufacturing waste, was found eroding out onto the main cave chamber and terrace surface. These artifacts provide the critical indication warranting intensive test excavations. The surface materials demonstrate the potential of buried, stratified archaeological layers dating from the Middle Paleolithic (250,000 - 50,000 BP [before present]), Upper Paleolithic (50,000-20,000 BP), and Epipaleolithic (20,000-12,000 BP) periods. In Southwest Asia this broad time range encompasses (in chronological order): the emergence of anatomically modern humans from Africa; the neandertals' southward expansion from Europe; the subsequent virtual disappearance of neandertal anatomy from the modern human pool of variation; the associated major expansion of anatomically modern humans - and the Upper Paleolithic societies they constituted - from the Southern Levant; and the long-term emergence of sedentary settlement, food storage, and horticulture. Excavations at Mughr el-Hamamah may help to explain how and why these major developments unfolded at the crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe. Located in only a preliminarily explored district of Jordan, Mughr el-Hamamah is well positioned geographically to yield a higher resolution understanding of the biocultural evolution of Homo sapiens. Mughr el-Hamamah has only been subject to non-intrusive investigation. The 2010 test excavations, supported by the NSF program High Risk Research in Archaeology and Physical Anthropology, are designed to evaluate preservation and stratigraphy of prehistoric deposits at the site. If they prove substantial, the archaeological deposits from Mughr el-Hamamah have the potential to elucidate the biocultural evolutionary processes that shaped the emergence of modern human biological variation, while also structuring long-term trends in demography, social networks, and technology. The broader impact of investigating Mughr el-Hamamah is twofold. First, the intellectual merit of investigating a new Paleolithic site in a geographically key region links to wider questions of contemporary concern: why has the genus Homo exhibited recurrent, long-term increasing impacts on our ecosystem, and how have demographic and cultural processes played a role in these impacts? Second, the proposed investigation of Mughr el-Hamamah is part of a long-term project to document and excavate cave and open-air sites in the Ajlun District, Jordan. The project will help to build local and regional support for cultural resource management and education in the Ajlun District and Jordan Valley areas of Jordan.