Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant: Geological Analysis To Determine Environmental Change

据研究人员称，人类已经进入人类世-人类行为主导自然过程的时期。然而，没有人确切地知道人类何时或如何到达这个关键的时间节点。一些研究人员认为人类世是最近的，而另一些人则认为它有数千年的历史。考古学很好地解决了这一争论，并提供了对这个问题的历史见解。特别是，研究人员将利用中国早期丰富的考古记录，更好地记录人类世的起源。本研究利用一系列埋藏土壤作为古代环境条件的记录，有助于将中国现在发生的环境变化置于历史背景中。作为该项目的一部分，研究人员将帮助培训有兴趣建立第一个从中国河南采集的具有重要考古意义的土壤样本参考收藏的中国合作者。调查人员将促进中美学者之间的观点，知识和数据的交流，以回答这个问题。在Tristram Kidder博士的指导下，Michael Storozum先生将使用中国河南省内黄县保存完好的埋藏土壤记录来更好地记录人类世的起源，以回答这个具体的研究问题。调查人员将从内黄县安上和三杨庄两个地点收集和分析一系列连续的样品，采用各种科学方法，包括X射线荧光、电子探针、粒度分布分析、烧失量、磁化率和土壤微形态，以确定过去人类土地利用的特征。此外，研究人员还将利用放射性碳样品的加速器质谱法测年来完善三杨庄和安上的年代学。通过识别过去人类土地使用的特征，研究人员将能够评估人类如何将一万年前的自然环境转变为人类世的环境。该项目将为Storozum先生的博士论文提供数据。

According to researchers, humans have entered the Anthropocene - a period of time when human action dominates natural processes. Yet, no one is quite sure when or how humans have arrived at this critical junction in time. Some researchers argue that the Anthropocene is recent, while others argue that it is thousands of years old. Archaeology is well situated to resolve this debate and provide historical insight into this problem. In particular, the investigators will use the early and rich archaeological record of China to better document the origins of the Anthropocene. This study uses a series of buried soils as a record of ancient environmental conditions, helping to put environmental changes now happening in China in a historical context. As part of this project, the investigators will help train Chinese collaborators interested in build the first reference collection of archaeologically important soil samples collected from Henan, China. The investigators will foster an exchange of perspectives, knowledge, and data between Chinese and American scholars necessary to answer this problem. Under the direction of Dr. Tristram Kidder, Mr. Michael Storozum will use an extraordinarily preserved record of buried soils in Neihuang County, Henan, China to better document the origins of the Anthropocene to answer this specific research question. From two localities in Neihuang County, Anshang and Sanyangzhuang, the investigators will collect and analyze a continuous series of samples with a variety of scientific methods including X-ray florescence, electron microprobe, grain size distribution analysis, loss-on-ignition, magnetic susceptibility, and soil micromorphology to identify signatures of past human land use. Additionally, the investigators will refine the chronology at both Sanyangzhuang and Anshang with accelerator mass spectrometry dating of radiocarbon samples. By identifying signatures of past human land use, the investigators will be able to assess how humans transformed the natural environment of ten thousand years ago into the environments of the Anthropocene. This project will provide the data for Mr. Storozum's doctoral dissertation.