Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Analysis of Shellfish for Environmental and Chronological Interpretation

贝类是过去社会的重要资源，沿着世界海岸线、河岸、湖泊和小溪发现的许多贝壳基质遗址证明了这一点。这些遗址不仅反映了生存的记录，而且包含了关于过去环境以及人们如何与之互动的宝贵信息。由于难以挖掘和运输大量的贝壳，无脊椎动物通常不包括在动物考古分析中，这导致缺乏关于贝壳基质遗址中脊椎动物和无脊椎动物组成的比较数据。这项跨学科研究结合了动物考古学和稳定同位素地球化学，以了解贝类在导致美国东南部沿海贝壳环遗址形成的过程和实践中的作用。东方牡蛎（Crassostrea virginica）作为贝壳环的重要组成部分，将成为一个季节捕获研究的重点，该研究使用现代环境数据作为过去环境条件的代理。此外，了解过去牡蛎的使用模式对当今物种的管理和保护具有重要意义。鉴于世界范围内牡蛎数量的减少，考古学处于独特的位置，可以为人类对海岸的影响及其重要资源的健康和可持续性提供长期的历史视角。这项研究的结果将在全球范围内共享，包括一份基于网络的指南，概述牡蛎地球化学分析的制备技术、研究结果对河口健康的影响以及考古研究的价值。参与该项目的本科生将获得动物考古方法和稳定同位素分析方面的实验室经验和培训。贝壳环是一类贝壳基质遗址，其形式和功能被不同地理论化为居住、仪式实践或两者结合的产物。这些理论的核心是季节性，与全年居住地点相比，仪式场所可能表现出季节性使用。动物遗迹通常用于解决这些地点的季节性特征，但是无脊椎动物遗迹很少被包括在分析中，限制了我们对脊椎动物和无脊椎动物综合利用模式的理解。在Susan deFrance博士的指导下，副主任Nicole Cannarozzi将通过比较现代和考古牡蛎碳酸盐的稳定同位素组成，研究位于乔治亚州圣凯瑟琳岛的两个晚古时期贝壳环的不同形成和使用。在两年的时间里，Co-PI收集了圣凯瑟琳岛的牡蛎和水样，并测量了水温和盐度。这些数据将与对脊椎动物和无脊椎动物的综合动物考古学分析相结合，这些分析来自两个地点不同背景下的柱状样本，以了解动物的使用、定居模式和沉积习惯。这项研究突出了跨学科研究在考古学中的价值，并将澄清我们对贝壳基质遗址形成时间、动物资源利用和季节性定居和流动的理解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Shellfish were an important resource for past societies and the many shell matrix sites found along world coastlines, riverbanks, lakes and creeks are a testament to that. These sites reflect not only a record of subsistence, but contain valuable information about the past environment and how people interacted with it and each other. Due to the difficulty in excavating and transporting large amounts of shell, invertebrates are typically not included in zooarchaeological analysis which results in a lack of comparative data on the composition of vertebrates and invertebrates in shell matrix sites. This interdisciplinary research combines zooarchaeology and stable isotope geochemistry to understand the role of shellfish in the processes and practices that led to the formation of shell ring sites on the coastal southeastern US. As a prominent component of shell rings, the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) will be the focus of a season of capture study that uses modern environmental data as a proxy for past environmental conditions. Further, understanding use patterns of oysters in the past has important implications for the management and conservation of the species today. Given the decline in oyster populations world-wide, archaeology is uniquely situated to provide a long-term, historical perspective on the human impact on the coast and the health and sustainability of its important resources. Results of this research will be shared globally, including a web-based guide outlining preparation techniques for geochemical analysis of oysters, implications of the findings for estuarine health, and value for archaeological research. Undergraduate student participants in the project will gain laboratory experience and training in zooarchaeological methods and stable isotope analysis.Shell rings are a class of shell-matrix site in which form and function have been variously theorized as the products of either habitation, ceremonial practice or a combination of the two. Central to these theories is seasonality, wherein ceremonial sites would likely demonstrate seasonal use when compared to year-round habitation sites. Faunal remains are typically used to address the seasonal nature of these sites, however invertebrate remains are rarely included in analysis, limiting our understanding of combined vertebrate and invertebrate faunal use patterns. Under the direction of Dr. Susan deFrance, Co-PI Nicole Cannarozzi will investigate the differential formation and use of two Late Archaic Period Shell rings located on St. Catherines Island, Georgia by comparing the stable isotopic composition of the carbonate in modern and archaeological oysters from these sites. Over a two-year period, the Co-PI collected oysters and water samples from St. Catherines Island and measured water temperature and salinity. These data will be coupled with a comprehensive zooarchaeological analysis of vertebrates and invertebrates from column samples taken from various contexts within the two sites to understand faunal use, settlement patterns and depositional practices. This study highlights the value of interdisciplinary research in archaeology and will clarify our understanding of the timing of formation of shell matrix sites, faunal resource use and seasonal settlement and mobility.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.