旧石器遗址出土烧骨的技术分析及其对考古学的启示

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。

Technological analysis of burned bones and its implications for Paleolithic archaeology

Burned bones are commonly found in Paleolithic sites. As one particular category of fire-use residues, burned bones are significant to a due understanding of the repertoire of hominin behaviors. However, the significance of these objects still remains largely unexplored in Chinese Paleolithic sites. In this paper, we present a review of analytical techniques in observation and quantification of the main features, including colors, fracture patterns, black carbon content, bone histology changes and the crystallinity of hydroxyapatite, of the burned skeletal remains from a variety of contexts. We also mention three types of fire-use behavior that may be related to burnt bones researchs. In this way, we seek to provide a referential framework for future analysis of the burned bones from archaeological sites of China.