Lithic heat treatment and behavioral evolution during the South African Middle Stone Age

拟议研究的目的是调查已知最早出现的有意热处理的石器原料在南非中石器时代（MSA）。在过去的几十年里，南部非洲已经成为研究技术创新和象征性行为的关键地区。热处理，即通过加热有意改变材料的特性，被认为是智人向更复杂和现代行为进化的一部分。然而，最近关于热处理在这一过程中的作用的讨论缺乏坚实的基础。所开采的材料（硅酸盐）及其热转化，以及处理作者所应用的条件都不为人所知。我们提出了一种双管其下的方法：[1]直接评估热处理的发生，施加的温度，使用的硅结混凝土类型和整个MSA过程的演变；bbb对性能和温度依赖的转变进行实验研究，包括潜在的有效温度，持续时间和环境。将实验数据与从南非文物中获得的数据进行直接比较，将产生关于智人群体认知过程和技术知识的新数据。

The objective of the proposed study is to investigate the earliest known appearance of intentional heat treatment of lithic raw material in the South African Middle Stone Age (MSA). Over the past couple decades, southern Africa has become a key region for investigating the appearance of technological innovation and symbolic behavior. Heat treatment, i.e. the deliberate transformation of a material’s properties by heat, is believed to be a part of the evolution of Homo sapiens towards a more complex and modern behavior. However, the recent discussion about the role of heat treatment in this process lacks a solid basis. Neither the exploited material (silcrete) and its thermal transformations, nor the conditions applied by the treatment s authors are known. We propose a two-pronged approach: [1] The direct assessment of the occurrence of heat treatment, the applied temperatures, the used silcrete types and the evolution of the process throughout the MSA and [2] an experimental investigation on the properties and temperature-dependent transformations, including potential effective temperatures, durations and environments. The direct comparison between experimental data and the data obtained from the South African artifacts will produce new data on the cognitive processes and technological knowledge of the groups of Homo sapiens.