9319118 Stoltman Under the direction of Dr. James Stoltman, Mr. Jeffrey Shokler will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will focus on lithic materials - stone tools - excavated from a large number of sites in the Estremadura region of Portugal and use both macroscopic examination and chemical sourcing to determine the source of raw material origin. To accomplish this he will continue his ongoing surveys of flint source areas which are abundant in the region. Preliminary work suggests that, although in the same general region, different sources are distinct enough to allow attribution of tools recovered in archaeological sites material to source of geological origin. With such data Mr. Shokler should then be able to address a number of anthropologically significant questions which concern how prehistoric hunters and gatherers moved over the landscape and how they related to each other. He will examine how observed patterns changed over the course of the last ca. 40,000 years and how a developing lithic production technology affected raw material selection. About 40,000 years ago cultural traits such as art and religion first appeared in Europe. Over this part of the last Ice Age archaeologists can trace their intensification and further development. What is harder to discern however is the underlying social context in which these traits developed and Mr. Shokler's research is directed towards this goal. Based on evidence in Southern France and Northern Spain, it has been postulated that population increased over time and that groups adapted a yearly cycle which involved dispersal into smaller units and then aggregation into larger multiband groups. Aggregation requires social mechanisms which allow peaceful and organized interaction and this need served as incentive for change. Lithics provide a window which will allow Mr. Shokler to examine such questions. This research is important for several reasons. In recent years much archaeological data has been collected in Portugal with NSF support. Relatively little analysis has been done and the results of Mr. Shokler's research will be of interest to many archaeologists. The work examines the mechanisms by which modern cultural traits develop and will support the training of a promising young scientist. ***
