Collaborative Research: Long-term Anthropogenic Influences on the Crater Lake Environmental Landscape of Western Uganda

在国家科学基金会的支持下，由Meghan Howey博士、Peter施密特博士、Michael Palace博士、Joel Hartter博士、Lawrence Kiage博士和Bunny Lejju博士组成的跨学科团队将对乌干达西部的Ndali火山口湖泊景观进行一个考古和古生态学研究的实地季节，一系列复杂的火山口湖鲁文佐里山脉以东的火山口沼泽，在艾伯丁裂谷形成了一个特别独特的环境。 指数级的人口增长和无节制的土地转换使艾伯丁裂谷成为世界上最受威胁的生物多样性热点之一。 这项研究旨在利用深厚的历史，告知现在和未来的轨迹景观变化的艾伯丁裂谷。 为了实现这一目标，有必要测试是否可以在当地考古记录和古生态记录之间建立联系。 恩达利火山口的湖泊和沼泽是保存过去景观证据（生物和非生物）的绝佳环境，因此，它们一直是古生态学研究的重点。 这些记录一致显示了人为干扰的可能证据，但有一种倾向是将变化归因于气候变化，而不是人为影响。其中一个原因是这些湖泊周围缺乏考古证据，这些证据可能将历史上的人类占领与这些发现联系起来。 有充分的理由期待这里的文化活动蓬勃发展，因为恩达利湖位于震中东北不到200公里处，位于维多利亚湖以西的东非炼铁技术的发展，并且位于同一个森林地带，可以提供薪材和其他资源来支持人们的工业生产。 事实上，施密特博士17年前的初步研究证实，在最北端的火山口湖周围，有来自铁器时代早期和晚期的强烈迹象。 到目前为止，还没有任何工作扩大了这些初步调查结果。 通过对火山口边缘和连续阶地的扩大考古测试以及填充火山口，沼泽和火山口湖泊的新古生态核心相结合，该试点研究计划将确定考古学和古环境数据是否可以成功地表达出来。 火山口湖泊和人类住区之间的密切联系，开辟了直接推断人类对景观的影响，人类资源开发，陆地和水生生态系统对人类干扰的恢复力的可能性。 需要新的办法和答案来解决艾伯丁裂谷目前面临的人口和生态危机。 这项试点工作将有助于建立一个研究计划，通过跨越人文科学，社会科学和自然科学，回顾过去和展望未来，并优先考虑当地历史知识作为解决当前压力的重要因素，提供新的答案。

With National Science Foundation support, an interdisciplinary team of Drs. Meghan Howey, Peter Schmidt, Michael Palace, Joel Hartter, Lawrence Kiage, and Bunny Lejju will conduct one field season of archaeological and paleoecological research on the Ndali crater lake landscape in western Uganda, a complex series of crater lakes and in-filled crater swamps east of the Rwenzori mountains which forms a particularly distinct setting in the Albertine Rift. Exponential population growth and unchecked land conversion have made the Albertine Rift one of the world's most threatened biodiversity hotspots. This research aims to use deep history to inform present and future trajectories of landscape change in the Albertine Rift. To build towards that goal, it is necessary to test whether linkages can be established between local archaeological and paleoecological records. The Ndali crater lakes and swamps are excellent environments for archiving evidences (biotic and abiotic) of past landscapes and as such, they have been the focus of paleoecological research. These records consistently show possible evidence of human-driven disturbance but there has been a tendency to attribute change to climate change rather than anthropogenic influences. One reason for this is the absence of archaeological evidence around these lakes that might connect historical human occupation to these findings. There is good reason to expect robust cultural activity here, as the Ndali lakes are located less than two hundred kilometers northeast of the epicenter for the development of iron smelting technology in East Africa west of Lake Victoria and are located in the same forest band that would have provided fuelwood and other resources to support people in industrial production. Indeed, preliminary work 17 years ago by Dr. Schmidt confirmed deep-time human occupation around the northern-most crater lakes with strong signatures from the Early and Later Iron Age. To date no work has expanded these preliminary findings. Through a combination of expanded archaeological testing on crater rims and contiguous terraces and new paleoecological cores in filled calderas, swamps, and crater lakes, this pilot research program will establish if archaeology and paleoenvironmental data can be successfully articulated. The close proximities between crater lakes and human settlements opens the potential to make direct inferences about human influence on the landscape, human resource exploitation, and the resilience of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to human disturbance. New approaches and answers are needed to address current demographic and ecological crises facing the Albertine Rift. This pilot work will help build a research program that offers new answers by crossing the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, looking backwards as well as forwards, and prioritizing local historical knowledge as important to address current stresses.