Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Paleocoastal Seasonality on California's Northern Channel Islands: Shellfish Harvesting and Isotopic Signatures of Sedentism vs. Mobility

解剖学上的现代人（AMH）从非洲到世界各地（包括美洲人）传播的时间和性质是当今考古学家面临的一些最重要的问题。越来越多的证据表明，沿海迁移和海洋适应促进了抗微生物药物耐药性向亚洲和美洲的传播。美洲最早的一些航海和海洋适应的证据来自加利福尼亚的海峡群岛，那里至少在13000年前就有古沿海民族定居。然而，关于古海岸占领在这些岛屿上的持久性，以及对海洋生活方式的承诺程度，问题仍然存在。通过研究古海岸的生活方式、定居、生存策略、航海和北海峡群岛上的岛屿殖民，本研究将有助于解决与北美海洋捕鱼的古代、人类对海洋生态系统的影响以及沿海和岛屿环境的假定边缘性有关的更大问题。在Jon Erlandson博士的指导下，Nicholas Jew先生将使用稳定氧同位素分析（ä18O）对古海岸考古遗址的海洋贝壳进行分析，以检验与早期人类在北海峡群岛定居的季节性有关的假设。氧同位素分析将用于确定海水温度和收获季节，这些贝壳来自圣米格尔岛7个古海岸贝丘，时间大约在10200年到8000年之间。全年捕捞贝类的证据表明，古沿海民族永久占领了岛屿，而更集中的捕捞证据表明，季节性定居。为了提供对18O结果的独立检查，同位素数据将与每个地点的人工制品和脊椎动物组合进行比较，这些数据根据占用的长度和时间而变化。同位素分析还将提供有关古代海洋表面温度的宝贵信息，这些温度随时间而波动，并影响当地海洋生态系统的生产力和结构。所有这些数据将与已发表和未发表的数据进行比较，包括目前对圣米格尔两个终端更新世（~12,200-11,400 cal BP）遗址和圣罗莎岛一个大型住宅贝壳堆的贝壳同位素研究结果，这些结果可追溯到~8200年前，以测试一般的殖民模型。调查人员将评估关于新大陆岛屿殖民的一些最早证据的假设，产生新的假设，检查贝类的可用性和收获，并检查北海峡群岛的古海岸遗址功能和定居模式。这项研究将产生重要的考古和古生态学新数据，为人类学研究生和本科生提供培训机会，并有助于完成人类学博士学位。研究成果将通过同行评审的出版物、公开和专业演讲以及各种印刷和电子媒体与公众和学术界分享。

The timing and nature of the spread of anatomically modern humans (AMH) out of Africa and around the world-including the peopling of the Americas-are some of the most significant issues facing archaeologists today. There is growing evidence that coastal migrations and maritime adaptations contributed to the spread of AMH into Asia and the Americas. Some of the earliest evidence for seafaring and maritime adaptations in the Americas comes from California's Channel Islands, which were settled by Paleocoastal peoples at least 13,000 years ago. Questions remain, however, about the permanence of Paleocoastal occupation on the islands or the level of commitment to maritime life-ways. By examining Paleocoastal life-ways, settlement, subsistence strategies, seafaring, and island colonization on the Northern Channel Islands, this research will contribute to larger issues pertaining to the antiquity of marine fishing in North America, human impacts on marine ecosystems, and the supposed marginality of coastal and island environments. In this Doctoral Dissertation Grant under the direction of Dr. Jon Erlandson, Mr. Nicholas Jew will use stable oxygen isotope analysis (ä18O) of marine shells from Paleocoastal archaeological sites to test hypotheses related to the seasonality of early human settlement on the Northern Channel Islands. Oxygen isotope analysis will be used to determine the marine water temperature and season of harvest for marine shells from seven Paleocoastal middens on San Miguel Island dated between about 10,200 and 8000 years ago. Evidence for year-round shellfish harvesting would suggest permanent occupation of the islands by Paleocoastal peoples, whereas evidence for more focused harvesting would suggest seasonal settlement. To provide an independent check on 18O results, the isotope data will be compared to artifact and vertebrate assemblages from each site, which vary depending on the length and timing of an occupation. The isotope analysis will also provide valuable information on ancient sea-surface temperatures, which have fluctuated through time and affect the productivity and structure of local marine ecosystems. All these data will be compared to published and unpublished data-including the results of current isotopic research on shells from two Terminal Pleistocene (~12,200-11,400 cal BP) sites on San Miguel and a large residential shell midden on Santa Rosa Island dated to ~8200 years ago-to test general colonization models. The investigators will evaluate hypotheses regarding some of the earliest evidence for island colonization in the New World, generate new hypotheses examining shellfish availability and harvesting, and examine Paleocoastal site function and settlement patterns on the Northern Channel Islands.This research will result in important new archaeological and paleoecological data, provide training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students in anthropology, and contribute to the completion of a PhD in anthropology. Research results will be shared with the public and scholarly community through peer-reviewed publications, public and professional presentations, and a variety of print and electronic media.