Diet and Physiological Stresses in Paleolithic non-adults

在这项提案中，要求提供资金，对旧石器时代非成年人的饮食和生理压力进行迄今为止最全面的研究，研究范围广泛，时间和地理范围都很广。来自欧亚大陆许多遗址的属于前尼安德特人、尼安德特人、旧石器时代中期解剖学上的现代人和旧石器时代晚期现代人的牙齿遗骸将使用两种以科学为基础的考古方法进行检查，即牙齿微磨损纹理分析，用于检查非成人饮食的尖端微磨损分析技术；以及牙釉质发育不良分析，用于记录儿童时期面临的生理压力。为了对化石样本进行比较和解释，本研究还将记录不同时期和不同地理位置的新近人类非成年动物的饮食和生理压力。研究的目的是：1)记录每个旧石器时代种群中断奶发生的年龄，并探讨其对生活史模式的影响；2)记录不同旧石器时代社会中发育中的非成人被视为行为成年的年龄，以及3)研究古生态因素对旧石器时代非成人的饮食和压力分布模式的影响。这项研究具有非常重要的意义，因为它将揭示旧石器时代人类以前未被记录的行为/社会方面。尽管旧石器时代的人类化石记录包含了相当数量的非成人化石，但我们对旧石器时代儿童的了解非常有限，因为考古分析通常不包括儿童。这项拟议的研究将揭示旧石器时代儿童生活的重要但在很大程度上未被探索的方面，他们的饮食和他们经历的营养压力。由于饮食是生存的第一要求，保持年轻一代的适当营养和营养健康是人口生存的必要条件。因此，这项研究不仅将阐明旧石器时代社会的一个尚未得到充分研究的亚单位，而且还将揭示这些社会作为一个整体以前不为人知的行为方面，特别是那些与儿童待遇和儿童保育做法有关的问题，这些问题通常不能通过对成人遗骸的分析来揭示。这项研究还将比较旧石器时代不同时期的这些行为，特别是尼安德特人和旧石器时代晚期现代人之间的行为，从而揭示这些人类群体之间可能存在的行为差异。这项研究的更广泛的影响是，它将增强我们对古人类行为的理解。它还将追溯旧石器时代这种战略和行为中现代性的起源，当时是人类晚期进化的非常关键的时期，当时现代人在世界各地扩张，尼安德特人消失。

In this proposal funds are being requested to conduct the most comprehensive study to date on diet and physiological stresses of Paleolithic non-adults from across their wide temporal and geographical ranges. Dental remains belonging to Pre-Neandertals, Neandertals, Middle Paleolithic anatomically modern humans, and Upper Paleolithic modern humans from numerous western Eurasian sites will be examined using two well-established methodologies in science-based archaeology, dental microwear texture analysis, the cutting edge microwear analysis technique, for the examination of non-adults diets; and dental enamel hypoplasia analysis for the documentation of physiological stresses faced during childhood. For comparative and interpretive purposes for the fossil sample, this study will also document diets and physiological stresses among recent human non-adults from different time periods and geographic locations.The aims of the study are: 1) to document the age at which weaning occurred in each of the Paleolithic populations and to explore its implications on life history patterns, 2) to document the age at which developmentally non-adults were considered as behaviorally adults in the different Paleolithic societies, and 3) to examine the effects of paleoecological factors on dietary and stress distribution patterns among Paleolithic non-adults. This study is highly significant since it will reveal previously undocumented behavioral/social aspects of Paleolithic humans. Although the Paleolithic human fossil record comprises a significant number of non-adults, our understanding of childhood in the Paleolithic is very limited, since children are generally not included in archaeological analyses. The proposed study will bring to light important but largely unexplored aspects of the life of Paleolithic children, their diets and the nutritional stresses they experienced. Since diet is the first requirement for survival, maintaining proper nourishment and nutritional well-being of young generations is a necessity for the survival of populations. Thus, this study will not only shed light on a as yet understudied sub-unit of Paleolithic societies, but will also reveal previously unknown behavioral aspects of these societies as a whole, especially those pertaining to treatment of children and childcare practices that generally cannot be revealed through analyses of adult remains. This study will also allow for a comparison of these behaviors between the different time periods of the Paleolithic, specifically between Neandertals and Upper Paleolithic modern humans, shedding light on possible behavioral differences between these human groups. The broader impact of this study is that it will enhance our understanding of ancient human behavior. It will also trace the origin of modernity in such strategies and behaviors in the Paleolithic, at the very critical period of late human evolution when modern humans expanded across the world and Neandertals disappeared.