Early human cultural diversity and adaptive responses to resource stress

该项目将测试关于人类行为战略的新假设，以及在人类早期迁出非洲时对中部非洲资源压力的反应。它的目的是研究在南部和东部非洲的石器文物记录中观察到的行为复杂性与马拉维北部的行为复杂性之间的关系，马拉维北部位于这些扩散的关键十字路口。该研究区域蕴藏着罕见的考古矿藏，为解决各种规模的早期人力资源使用问题提供了独特的机会：遗址、景观和区域。该项目旨在通过调查当地地球物理和气候限制为什么以及如何影响相对于其他区域的过去的人类行为，为人类起源研究作出贡献。

This project will test novel hypotheses about human behavioural strategies and responses to resource stress in central Africa at the time of early human dispersals out of Africa. It aims to examine how behavioural complexity observed in the stone artefact records of southern and eastern Africa relate to those in northern Malawi, which lies at a key crossroads for these dispersals. The study area contains rare archaeological deposits that offer a unique opportunity to address problems of early human resource use at all scales: site, landscape, and region. This project aims to contribute to human origins research through investigation of why and how local geophysical and climatic constraints shaped past human behaviour relative to other regions.