Under the direction of Dr. Geoffrey Clark, Mr. John Lindly will analyze stone tools recovered from archaeological sites in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. These materials are located in U.S. museums and Mr. Lindly will spend time working in each. The study will provide the data for his doctoral dissertation. Lithic materials from 17 sites, all dating to the Middle Paleolithic period, will be analyzed. Mr. Lindly will focus not on formal retouched tools but rather the debitage - the incidental by-products of stone tool production. A number of measures and observations will be standardized and recorded and this will permit reconstruction of manufacturing processes used. With this information it will then be possible to trace changes in technology across both time and space. The basic question Mr. Lindly wishes to examine concerns the development of anatomically modern humans. Evidence indicates that during the Middle Palaeolithic the first such individuals appeared in the Near East. Data also suggests that for many millennia these individuals coexisted with more archaic Neanderthal forms. Mr. Lindly's study will determine whether two technological traditions, which may then be associated with physical variants, also existed. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed light into the origin of modern humans. The analytic techniques developed should also be useful in many archaeological situations. Finally, the project will assist in the development of an extremely promising young scientist.
