Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Research Into The Origins Of Human Technology

新泽西州罗格斯州立大学的Sarah Hlubik将进行一项研究项目，调查人类祖先最早开始定期使用火的时间。这项研究解决了理解人属进化的一个关键问题。从南方古猿/早期猿人到直立人的身体变化是惊人的，直立人的身体更大，躯干更细，这表明消化系统发生了变化。这种变化可以解释为经常使用火来帮助准备食物。十多年来，研究人员一直在争论这一点，但在考古记录中没有直立人出现时使用火的证据。这项研究将通过一个强有力的研究计划来评估有记录的最早的火可以追溯到至少150万年前（mya）的说法，包括挖掘和实验，以确定火的特征及其在景观上的寿命。该项目探索了在古代露天遗址的考古记录中识别火的方法。它在很大程度上是基于挖掘、采样和与实验工作的比较，以观察火在景观和文化背景中的特征，以及是否可以在超过100万年的遗址中识别和检测到它。这项工作主要在肯尼亚北部进行。FxJj20 AB遗址是一个已知的遗址，到目前为止已经发现了数千件人工制品和化石骨，并包含了一些火存在的暗示证据。该遗址位于洪泛平原沉积物上，几乎没有人工制品被水或风移动的证据，这使得它成为回答火是否存在以及火是否由创造该遗址的人类祖先维持和控制的问题的一个很好的候选者。挖掘是用小型工具进行的，可以将所有材料恢复到原来的位置。检查文物和骨头是否有可能被烧毁的迹象。取样材料包括沉积柱、松散沉积物、石头和骨骼样本，使用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪（FTIR）进行调查，将其与实验产生的样本进行比较，以确定现场材料是否已被烧毁。沉积柱也通过岩石薄切片检查，以确定该遗址创建后的具体历史。

Sarah Hlubik of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, will undertake a research project to investigate when human ancestors first began using fire on a regular basis. This study addresses a crucial topic in understanding the evolution of the genus Homo. The physical changes from Australopithecus/early Homo to Homo erectus are striking, with Homo erectus being larger bodied and with a more slender trunk, indicating a change in the digestive system. This change can be explained by the regular use of fire to help prepare food. For over a decade researchers have argued this point, but there are no archaeological instances of fire in the record with the appearance of H. erectus. This study will assess the claim that the earliest fire in the record dates back to at least 1.5 million years ago (mya) through a vigorous research schedule that includes excavation and experimentation to determine the signature of fire and its longevity on the landscape.This project explores the ways in which fire can be identified in the ancient archaeological record of open-air sites. It is based heavily on excavation, sampling, and comparison to experimental work to look at the signature of fire on the landscape and in cultural contexts, and whether it can be identified and detected in sites greater than 1 million years. The work primarily takes place in Northern Kenya.. The site of FxJj20 AB is a known site, which has so far yielded several thousand artifacts and fossil bone, and contains some suggestive evidence for the presence of fire. The site is located on floodplain sediments, with little evidence of artifact movement by water or wind, which makes it a good candidate to answer the question of whether or not fire was present and whether or not fire was maintained and controlled by the human ancestors who created the site. Excavation is conducted with small tools, enabling the recovery of all materials in their original position. Artifacts and bone are examined for possible indications of burning. Sampled materials include sedimentary columns, and loose sediment, stone, and bone samples for investigation using a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), which are compared with experimentally produced samples to determine whether the materials on site have been burned. Sedimentary columns are also examined through petrographic thin-sectioning to determine the specific history of the site after its creation.