An international team of researchers will examine the pace of culture change between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago at a group of archaeological sites on the central East European Plain. This time period represents a critical phase of human prehistory as anatomically modern humans who had expanded out of Africa into Europe prior to 40,000 years ago developed innovative technologies and organizational structures in a comparatively cool and unproductive environment. After 30,000 years ago, settlements in many parts of northern Eurasia exhibit a dramatic increase in size and complexity (these settlements are known in Europe as the Gravettian). The pattern reflects a steadily accumulating command of the environment through technological and organizational innovations that underlie the eventual transition to village agriculture and civilization. But the earlier phase between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago remains poorly known and understood. Was there a gradual accumulation of novel technologies and expansion of the economy during this interval, or was there a sudden acceleration of change with the advent of the Gravettian? More broadly, what was the pattern of innovation and culture change among anatomically modern humans during the early phase of their settlement in northern Eurasia?
In order to address these questions, a two-year program of field and laboratory research will be undertaken at a group of open-air archaeological sites near Kostenki on the Don River in Russia. These and other sites on the central East European Plain are a major locus of Gravettian settlement after 30,000 years ago, but the Kostenki sites also contain stratified occupation layers that date to between 40,000 and 30,000 years ago. New excavations at several of these sites will focus on these layers and the reconstruction of changes in artifacts, features, and associated plant and animal debris that took place during this interval. Changes in economy and diet will be addressed not only with the analysis of animal remains, but also of plant materials and expanded stable-isotope studies of human bone. Special emphasis will be placed on the analysis of non-stone technologies through microscopic studies of bone, antler, and ivory items.
The research will improve our understanding of the pattern of social, economic, and technological change that precedes a major threshold in human prehistory the emergence of large and complex Gravettian settlements after 30,000 years ago. More generally, it will shed light on the behavior of modern humans and their capacity for innovation during this critical early phase of their occupation of northern Eurasia. The research also will provide training opportunities to a large number of students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and will strengthen international collaboration among American and Russian researchers from several disciplines. As in the case of past NSF-funded research at Kostenki, the results will be disseminated through professional publication and the popular media, as well as through outreach activities.
