H2020Индивидуална стипендия2020–2022

TANKwA · Technological Adaptations of Nubian cores in the Karoo: neW geometric morphometric Approaches

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2020-06-01 → 2022-05-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 147 815 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Каменните инструменти от региона Танква Кару в Южна Африка се анализират чрез 3D сканиране, за да се разбере специфичният метод за изработка на върхове. Това помага да се разбере как древните ловци са се адаптирали към живот в пустинни условия.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Technological Adaptations of Nubian cores in the Karoo: neW geometric morphometric Approaches

The project ‘TANKwA’ uses innovative digital tools to investigate past human technological adaptations to arid regions during the Middle Stone Age, a critical period of human anatomical and behavioural development. Specifically, this focuses on a new variant of stone tool technology found in the Tankwa Karoo region of South Africa which uses a distinctive method of point production more commonly seen in Northeast Africa, the Levant and Arabia, known as Nubian technology. Nubian technology describes a specific Levallois reduction strategy whereby the surfaces and angles of a core are prepared in a way that leads to an end-product of a predetermined shape. Nubian reduction is currently at the centre of debates surrounding human dispersals out of Africa, with this research contributing a new perspective from the southern tip of the continent where the technology was invented independently. Using 3D scanning and cutting-edge digital Geometric Morphometric techniques, this project establishes a new method for studying Nubian technology and lithic points, asking whether it posed any adaptive advantage to hunter gatherers in a desert environment. The open-air site of Tweefontein offers the ideal case study, complemented by museum study of comparative sites. The TANKwA project generates replicable quantitative data that contextualises Nubian technology both in southern Africa and globally, establishing the first inter-regional comparison between Nubian technology in South Africa, Northeast Africa and Israel. The project’s specific objectives involved: (1) Asking whether Nubian technology was a technological adaptation of hunter-gatherers living in arid environments. (2) Establishing a new methodological protocol for using 3D artefact data to answer archaeological questions about Nubian core and point technology. (3) Understanding the lithic assemblage from the site of Tweefontein within the context of the southern African MSA. (4) Understanding Nubian technology as we observe it in South Africa in the context of its wider occurrence in Africa and beyond.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

The project ‘TANKWA, Technological Adaptations of Nubian cores in the Karoo: new geometric morphometric Approaches’ uses innovative digital archaeological methods to investigate human technological adaptations to arid regions during the Middle Stone Age (MSA), a critical period of early human anatomical and behavioural development. Specifically, this will focus on a new late MSA technological variant observed in the arid Karoo region of interior South Africa which uses Nubian technology, a distinctive Levallois method of stone point production more commonly seen in MSA contexts in North Africa, the Levant and Arabia. Using cutting-edge digital Geometric Morphometric techniques, this research will establish a novel method for studying Nubian technology and lithic points, testing the hypothesis that this technology was an adaptive response to the challenges facing hunter-gatherers in an arid environment. The recently discovered open-air site of Tweefontein has a large artefact assemblage offering the ideal opportunity to characterise this technology, complemented by museum study of other South African Karoo sites. The novel approach applied will generate replicable quantitative data that allows the contextualisation of Nubian technology both in the southern African archaeological record and globally, establishing the first inter-regional comparison between Nubian technology in the Levant and South Africa. The training from experts at two international research institutions in Portugal and Israel, together with the applicant’s existing expertise in this under-studied region, culminates in a unique project which advances methods in lithic analysis and contributes to our understanding of early modern human adaptations and dispersals within and outside of Africa from a new perspective.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

UNIVERSIDADE DO ALGARVE · FaroКоординаторПортугалия