旧石器遗址出土烧骨的技术分析及其考古学应用

烧骨常见于各类旧石器时代遗址中,作为用火残留物的一类,烧骨对研究人类用火行为有着极为重要的意义,而目前国内针对烧骨的研究工作开展得尚不够深入。本文通过介绍目前烧骨研究领域中若干种主流的分析手段及其在考古学上的应用,以求能进一步完善国内关于旧石器时代人工用火的研究框架,同时希望能对中国古人类用火能力的相关研究提供有益的借鉴。     

开启人类热能转移应用的金钥匙——水洞沟遗址12地点间接用火材料的探究

在所有的生物之中,只有人类能够使用火,使用火是人类在与自然的博弈中得到的专利.在漫长的演化历史中,人类对火的驾驭和利用能力是不断发展、不断加强的. 北京周口店遗址和以色列Gesher Benot Ya' aqvo遗址的考古材料表明,至少在70～80万年前的直立人演化中期,古人类已能控制用火、保存火种.近年来,我国陆续发现了许多关于古人类用火遗迹的报道.其中早中更新世有北京房山周口店、辽宁营口金牛山和陕西洛南龙牙洞,这几处遗址都发现了比较多的灰烬、烧骨和烧结的居住面.     

水洞沟旧石器时代遗址的新材料

在我国旧石器时代遗址当中,水洞沟遗址发现较早,在文化分期上常常把它列入旧石器时代中期。水洞沟遗址最初是法国人德日进等于1923年发现和发掘的。由这个遗址采集到的动物化石有犀牛、鬣狗、羚羊、黄羊、野牛、焉和鸵鸟;文化材料中有烧骨和石器;石器材料的数量达300公斤,文化时代被定为莫斯特期或奥瑞纳早期。全部石器材料最后由法     

水洞沟第12地点古人类用火研究

水洞沟遗址第12地点在2007年的考古发掘中从距今约1.1万年前的灰烬层中出土大量破碎的石块。对这些石块的形态观察、大小统计和岩性分析表明它们是被人类选择、加热、利用而后破碎的。用同类石料所做的模拟实验表明, 这些石块是在经历高温热烧后被浸入水中崩解破碎的, 即它们是生活在遗址的先民用来烧水和烹煮液体食物的"烧石"。对遗址区地下水和地表水所做的水质检测分析显示, 该地的生水中大肠杆菌含量严重超标, 不能被直接食(饮)用,但煮沸后此项危害得以消除; 生态环境资料表明当地晚更新世末以来生长着多种可被人类食用的植物, 其中的一些可食性籽粒必须经过烹煮方可被享用。该地点的烧石是首次被确认和论证的旧石器时代先民复杂、间接用火的考古证据, 对探讨该遗址古人群对特定环境的适应生存方略与聪明才智, 以及古人类用火能力与方式的发展演化, 具有重要的学术意义。     

华北地区旧石器时代的骨、角器

本文对华北地区旧石器时代遗址或地点出土的骨、角器进行分类 ,在此基础上对该地区旧石器时代早、中、晚期骨、角器加工的特点和加工方式加以概括 ,对打击骨器的功能 ,刮制、磨制骨器技术和骨、角器起源等问题进行初步的探讨     

X射线衍射技术在烧骨实验研究中的初步应用

烧骨作为考古遗址中较为常见的一类特征遗物,对研究古人类用火行为有着重要的意义。过往研究表明,骨骼在加热过程中,其内部晶体会根据加热程度的不同产生不同的变化。骨骼在加热前的状态,能够在一定程度上反映古人类对骨骼进行热处理的动机与目的。为了了解骨骼在焚烧前的初始状态是否会对其内部晶体产生不同的影响,本研究利用56件现生羊骨进行了烧骨实验。实验设置了带肉骨、剔肉骨和干骨三种不同初始状态的骨骼,并在前人的研究基础上进一步细化了焚烧温度和时间参数。焚烧完成后,利用X射线衍射技术对所有样品进行了分析并观察其衍射图的差异。实验结果显示,骨骼有机质含量的多少,骨骼内部元素的不同,在一定的温度和时间条件下,会对骨骼内晶体的形成产生不同的影响。文章最后探讨了这种差异在考古研究中运用的可能性。     

黑龙江昂昂溪的旧石器

昂昂溪旧石器地点是一处旧石器时代末期生活遗址,距今约11,800年。文化遗物有灰烬、烧骨和类型丰富的石制品。共生的动物化石有普氏野马、东北野牛和达乌尔鼠兔等九种。昂昂溪旧石器在文化传统上与华北旧石器关系密切。这一发现为研究亚洲东北部早期人类活动提供了重要材料。     

南非发现最早的人类用火证据

人类什么时候开始用火,这是许多科学家一直关心的一个很有趣的问题。由于发现最早用火的遗迹实在不多,所以探讨这一问题常常有不少困难。早在1947年南非德兰士瓦的波希特萨斯东北16公里的马卡畔斯加特白云石洞穴堆积中,与南方古猿化石一起发现一些变成黑色的骨头,曾被认为是南方古猿用火的遗迹。但是,后来经过进一步研究,查明骨头表面呈黑色系矿物质污染所致,从而否定了南方古猿用火的论点。最近,布莱因和希林教授在斯瓦特克朗洞对含人类化石的角砾岩进行了发掘,从距今大约1—1.5百万年前的地层中发现一批烧过的骨头。他们对这些标本进行了组织学和化学方面的分析鉴定,发现它们确被加热到象篝火一样的温度,说明这些烧骨是人类使用火的最早的直接证据。     

关于以色列国的基巴拉和哈约尼姆两洞穴的微矿物的研究：对于考古纪录中灰烬沉积的认识

关于以色列国的基巴拉和哈约尼姆两洞穴的微矿物的研究：对于考古纪录中灰烬沉积的认识斯·韦纳斯·希格尔奥·巴·约瑟夫关键词火,灰烬,矿物,红外光谱学,成岩作用火的考古纪录对于认识早期人类的技术能力是十分有趣的。通过研究烧骨、炭屑、石器、以及高温对于烧过的...     

贵州穿洞遗址1979年发现的磨制骨器的初步研究

贵州省普定县穿洞出土的骨器是穿洞文化的重要标志。1979年首次试掘出土的骨器基本为磨制者, 类型主要有骨锥、骨铲、骨叉、骨棒及骨针等,多采用较厚的动物骨骼的碎片为原料加工而成。一次性出土数量如此多骨器的遗址在我国非常少见, 为研究中国旧石器时代晚期文化的多样性提供了一个重要地点和一批有意义的文化遗物, 并对研究我国旧石器时代骨器提供了丰富的材料, 增加了我们对骨器工具的制造工艺及用途的了解。     

La culture du Paléolithique dans la région de Jungwon en Corée

The Jungwon region is located in the central part of Korea and it is one of crucial regions for understanding of the Korean Paleolithic culture. Many Paleolithic sites have been discovered in this region, from the lower Paleolithic to the upper Paleolithic. It is of interest the remarkable variety of archeological remains such as human bones, stone tools, animal bones and paleoenvironmental artifacts. As a result, it permits us to reconstruct the subsistence of prehistoric men. This region has an important role for Korean prehistoric researches.     

Paleolithic hominin remains from Eshkaft-e Gavi (southern Zagros Mountains, Iran): description, affinities, and evidence for butchery

Eshkaft-e Gavi is a cave located in the southern Zagros Mountains of Iran and is one of the few archaeological sites in the region to preserve both Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic occupations. Excavation of the site in the 1970s yielded an assemblage of lithic and faunal remains, including ten hominin specimens: a mandibular molar, four cranial fragments, a clavicular diaphysis, the proximal half of a metacarpal, a fragment of os coxa, the proximal diaphysis of a juvenile femur, and a patella. The bones derive from a minimum of four individuals, including two juveniles. Although many of these remains could be Epi-Paleolithic in age, one of the juvenile specimens—the mandibular molar—occurs at the base of the cave's Upper Paleolithic sequence. The remains are very fragmentary, but those that preserve diagnostic morphology indicate that they represent modern humans. The molar is taxonomically diagnostic, thus confirming the association of the Aurignacian-like Baradostian Industry with modern humans. Four of the specimens—a piece of frontal bone, the clavicle, the juvenile femur, and the patella—display clear evidence for intentional butchery in the form of stone-tool cutmarks. These cutmarked specimens, along with a fragment of parietal bone, are also burned. Although this evidence is consistent with cannibalism, the small sample makes it difficult to say whether or not the individuals represented by the hominin remains were butchered and cooked for consumption. Nevertheless, the cutmarked Eshkaft-e Gavi specimens add to a growing sample of hominin remains extending back into the Plio-Pleistocene that display evidence of intentional defleshing.     

Hearth-side socioeconomics, hunting and paleoecology during the late Lower Paleolithic at Qesem Cave, Israel

The late Lower Paleolithic archaeofaunas of Qesem Cave in the southern Levant span 400-200 ka and associate with Acheulo-Yabrudian (mainly Amudian) industries. The large mammals are exclusively Eurasian in origin and formed under relatively cool, moist conditions. The zooarchaeological findings testify to large game hunting, hearth-centered carcass processing and meat sharing during the late Lower Paleolithic, not unlike the patterns known from Middle and Upper Paleolithic caves in the region. Well-defined hearth features are rarely preserved in Qesem Cave, but the heterogeneous distributions of burned bones indicate areas of frequent hearth rebuilding throughout the occupation sequence. The hominins delayed consumption of high quality body parts until they could be moved to the cave, where hearths were hubs of processing activities and social interaction. Paradoxically, the cut marks on the Qesem bones are both more abundant and more randomly oriented than those observed in Middle and Upper Paleolithic cases in the Levant. These results suggest that several individuals were directly involved in cutting meat from the bones and that the social mechanics of meat sharing during the late Lower Paleolithic at Qesem Cave differed from those typical of both the Middle and Upper Paleolithic in the region.     

Timing of the Lower to Middle Paleolithic boundary: new dates from the Levant

This paper reviews the numerical dates available for the late Lower Paleolithic and early Middle Paleolithic in the Levant. We also present here new electron spin resonance dates for the late Lower Paleolithic sites of Holon, Yabrud I and Oumm Qatafa. Irrespective of dating techniques used, the ages of these sites converge on oxygen isotope stage 7 at roughly 215+/-30 ka. Similarly, dates for early Middle Paleolithic sites in the region, with the exception of Tabun, fall within oxygen isotope stage 7, suggesting a relatively rapid transition from Lower to Middle Paleolithic. In the light of these findings, the "early chronology" for the region, based on the TL dates on burned flint from Tabun, is discussed.     

试论阎家岗遗址动物骨骼圈状堆积的性质

1983年和1984年黑龙江省哈尔滨阎家岗遗址发现了两处由动物骨骼围筑的圈状堆积, 被发掘者定为旧石器时代晚期古营地遗址, 引来不少争议。目前已有一些文章就其性质问题进行了详细的分析与讨论,反驳者认为该堆积是流水作用的产物。本文引入西方的民族考古学视角,运用已有的民族考古学资料进行类比, 从居住址的选址位置、结构特征和骨骼组成几方面入手, 探讨了其作为居址及狩猎掩蔽所的可能性, 并将阎家岗遗址动物骨骼圈状堆积与国外旧石器时代居住址进行形态比较, 发现二者共同点很少, 由此质疑该圈状堆积人为作用形成的可能性。另外从其他自然形成机制出发因地制宜, 对该遗迹现象的性质进行分析推测, 认为该遗迹可能主要是循环的冻融作用和流水作用共同形成的堆积。     

Modern hunting behavior in the early Middle Paleolithic: faunal remains from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel

Understanding the behavioral adaptations and subsistence strategies of Middle Paleolithic humans is critical in the debate over the evolution and manifestations of modern human behavior. The study of faunal remains plays a central role in this context. Until now, the majority of Levantine archaeofaunal evidence was derived from late Middle Paleolithic sites. The discovery of faunal remains from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel (>200 ka), allowed for detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of these early Middle Paleolithic remains. The Misliya Cave faunal assemblage is overwhelmingly dominated by ungulate taxa. The most common prey species is the Mesopotamian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica), followed closely by the mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella). Some aurochs (Bos primigenius) remains are also present. Small-game species are rare. The fallow deer mortality pattern is dominated by prime-aged individuals. A multivariate taphonomic analysis demonstrates (1) that the assemblage was created solely by humans occupying the cave and was primarily modified by their food-processing activities; and (2) that gazelle carcasses were transported complete to the site, while fallow deer carcasses underwent some field butchery. The new zooarchaeological data from Misliya Cave, particularly the abundance of meat-bearing limb bones displaying filleting cut marks and the acquisition of prime-age prey, demonstrate that early Middle Paleolithic people possessed developed hunting capabilities. Thus, modern large-game hunting, carcass transport, and meat-processing behaviors were already established in the Levant in the early Middle Paleolithic, more than 200 ka ago.     

旧石器时代的火塘与古人类用火

火塘作为旧石器时代反映古人类行为的重要遗迹一直受到学术界的关注。迄今为止, 我国已经发现了丰富的火塘遗迹及其相关遗留物, 但早期发现的火塘受限于本身保存不完整、当时技术手段的缺乏等客观因素及研究者的重视程度不够, 对其研究并不深入。近年来, 随着新遗址、新发现的增多, 发掘、保存和信息提取手段的完善, 越来越多的火塘信息被保存下来, 为开展旧石器时代火塘研究提供了基础和机遇。本文主要介绍近年来学术界对火塘及其遗留物的研究手段和成果, 同时列举了西方一些学者的研究实例, 简要论述火塘在研究史前人类行为中的重要作用。     

地理信息系统在动物考古学研究中的应用： 以贵州马鞍山遗址出土的动物遗存为例

目前,地理信息系统（GIS）在多学科领域的融合方面已经发挥了极为明显的作用。但是,在动物考古学研究中,尤其是在东亚地区,这一手段的使用还明显有所欠缺。本文尝试将这一技术手段应用于贵州马鞍山遗址(距今约43~16 kaBP)出土动物遗存的研究之中。在上千件石制品与数十件骨制品之外,马鞍山遗址还出土有大量的动物化石,从而使其成为检验与实践地理信息系统的一个良好媒介。本文以ArcGIS软件包中的空间分析工具为技术依托,重点对遗址出土的大型动物（包括Bubalus sp 和 Megatapirus augustus) 的骨骼单元分布模式进行了更为准确的统计与分析。本项研究表明,相对于传统方法而言,GIS系统在大型动物遗存的量化统计方面具有独特而重要的价值;此外,这一技术手段还有望在第四纪其他学科的研究中得到发挥与应用。     

Os fossiles humains des grottes Muierii et Cioclovina, Roumanie

This paper presents the cultural and archaeological context of the human fossil bones from Muierii Cave, dated by us to the age of 30 150 ± 800 ¹⁴C years BP (Before Present) or 34 810 ± 927 cal years BP (calibrated years Before Present), and from Cioclovina Cave, dated to the age of 29 000 ± 700 ¹⁴C years BP or 33 540 ± 832 cal years BP, in the Southern Carpathians. These are among the most ancient dated human fossil remains from Central and South-Eastern Europe and are described in conjunction with other sites with Mousterian assemblages of the recent Neanderthal population, and sites with Aurignacian assemblage of early modern humans, from Romanian region, for the interval of time 34,000-26,000, the transitional period from the Middle Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic.     

河南灵井许昌人遗址鬣狗粪化石的初步研究

河南灵井许昌人遗址是我国近年来发掘的最为重要的古人类遗址之一。该遗址中出土了大量的石器、骨器、动物化石、粪便化石等遗存以及人类头盖骨化石等。我们对该遗址出土的鬣狗粪化石进行了类型学及其包含的微体化石等方面研究,从分析统计结果来看,鬣狗粪化石中包含了丰富的古信息,如古寄生虫卵、动物毛发、孢粉、植硅体、真菌等。本文主要针对鬣狗粪化石中古寄生虫卵及动物毛发进行分析,探讨了作为寄主鬣狗罹患的寄生虫病,以及鬣狗的食物来源等情况,为深入理解更新世晚期人类适应环境与气候提供新的证据。