Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Microliths and the Development of Cultural Complexity

是什么让智人成为如此成功的物种，并成为这片土地上仅存的原始人？是什么使它能够殖民整个世界，并在新奇或极端的环境中生存？一些研究人员认为，一种名为“微石术”的新技术的开发，是成功和在全球传播的关键适应策略。这些小工具的好处被认为包括更有效地将原材料转化为可用的石材工具，创造创新和多样化的工具，并与复合工具的使用联系在一起。复合工具结合了多个部件，通常与机械辅助射弹技术和狩猎武器的传播有关。微石的出现和传播被认为是晚更新世全球技术重组趋势的一部分。然而，这些联系，甚至“微结石”的定义，都是有问题的。定义往往是上下文相关的，在对任何故意生产的小薄片的广泛考虑和小工具的具体表现之间摇摆。这使得人们对被认为是现代人关键技术创新的发展、传播和潜在好处的理解变得复杂起来。研究人员必须系统地解决小型工具是如何制造的，而不是关注微结石的类型学定义。通过侧重于在不同情况下生产小工具的技术系统，人们可以了解每个系统是如何变化的，以及用于小工具生产的技术系统是否是重新发明的汇聚解决方案或在群体内部和群体之间传播的文化知识。这对晚更新世的种群结构和相互联系具有重要意义。该项目将促进国际合作，并为包括第一代学生、少数民族、妇女和残疾学生在内的学生参与者提供指导和培训的机会，以扩大代表不足的群体在科学研究中的参与。这一博士论文项目研究与供应、运输和使用复合工具和射弹技术的系统有关的决策，以及这些决定如何影响晚更新世小工具技术的生产形式和系统。晚更新世的考古记录为现代人的行为变化提供了早期证据，对我们理解物种的起源和进化至关重要。研究人员将利用对石器组装的技术分析和实验考古学来了解原材料供应和运输系统如何影响晚更新世小工具生产的技术组织和个人系统。该项目的结果将有助于检查不同的复合工具制造战略的成本和收益，并为评估射弹武器的发展和扩散提供独立的证据。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

What was it that made Homo sapiens such a successful species and the sole remaining hominin on the landscape? What enabled it to colonize the entire world and survive in novel or extreme environments? Some researchers argue the development of a new kind of technology, called "microliths," was a key adaptive strategy in the success and global spread. Benefits of these small tools are argued to include more efficient conversion of raw materials into usable stone tools, creation of innovative and diverse tools, and have been linked with the use of composite tools. Composite tools combine multiple components and are often linked to the spread of mechanically assisted projectile technology and hunting weapons. The appearance and spread of microliths is suggested to be part of a global trend of technological reorganization during the late Pleistocene. However, these associations, and even the definition of "microliths," are problematic. Definitions tend to be contextual and oscillate between broad considerations of any intentionally produced small flake and specific manifestations of small tools. This has complicated understanding of the development, spread, and potential benefits of what is considered a pivotal technological innovation of modern humans. Rather than focusing on a typological definition of microliths, researchers must systematically address how small tools were made. By focusing on the technological system used to produce small tools in different contexts, one can understand how each system varied and whether technological systems for small tool production were convergent solutions that were reinvented or cultural knowledge transmitted within and between groups. This has implications for population structure and interconnectedness during the late Pleistocene. This project will foster international collaborations and provide opportunities for mentorship and training of student participants, including first-generation students, minorities, women, and students with disabilities to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in scientific research.This doctoral dissertation project examines decisions related to systems of provisioning, transport, and the use of composite tools and projectile technology and how these affected the form and systems of production of small tool technologies during the late Pleistocene. The archaeological record during the late Pleistocene has provided early evidence for behavioral changes in modern humans and has been vital to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the species. The researcher will employ technological analysis of stone tool assemblages and experimental archaeology to understand how systems of raw material provisioning and transport influence on technological organization and individual systems of small tool production during the late Pleistocene. Results from this project will contribute to examination of the costs and benefits of different strategies for composite tool manufacture and to provide an independent line of evidence to evaluate the development and spread of projectile weaponry.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.