Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2011 Sep;146(1):49-61. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.21542.
North Africa is increasingly seen as an important context for understanding modern human evolution and reconstructing biocultural adaptations. The Sahara, in particular, witnessed a fluorescence of hunter-gatherer settlement at the onset of the Holocene after an extended occupational hiatus. Subsequent subsistence changes through the Holocene are contrary to those documented in other areas where mobile foraging gave way to settled agricultural village life. In North Africa, extractive fishing and hunting was supplanted by cattle and caprine pastoralism under deteriorating climatic conditions. Therefore, the initial stage of food production in North Africa witnessed a likely increase in mobility. However, there are few studies of paleomobility in Early Holocene hunter-gatherer Saharan populations and the degree of mobility is generally assumed. Here, we present radiogenic strontium isotope ratios from Early Holocene fisher-forager peoples from the site of Gobero, central Niger, southern Sahara Desert. Data indicate a relatively homogeneous radiogenic strontium isotope signature for this hunter-gather population with limited variability exhibited throughout the life course or among different individuals. Although the overall signature was local, some variation in the radiogenic strontium isotope data likely reflects transhumance into the nearby Aïr Massif. Data from Gobero were significantly less variable than in other worldwide hunter-gatherer populations, including those thought to be fairly sedentary. Strontium data from Gobero were also significantly different from contemporaneous sites in southwestern Libya. These patterns are discussed with respect to archaeological models of community organization and technological evolution.
北非地区正逐渐被视为理解现代人进化和重建生物文化适应的重要背景。特别是撒哈拉沙漠，在经历了长时间的职业中断后，在全新世初期迎来了一波狩猎采集者定居的热潮。随后，整个全新世的人类生计方式发生了变化，与其他地区的情况形成了鲜明对比，在其他地区，游牧觅食逐渐让位于定居的农业村庄生活。在北非地区，在气候条件恶化的情况下，渔业和狩猎逐渐被牛和山羊畜牧业所取代。因此，在北非地区，食物生产的初始阶段可能增加了人们的流动性。然而，对于撒哈拉沙漠早期全新世狩猎采集者的古迁移情况的研究甚少，人们通常只是假设他们的迁移程度。在这里，我们展示了来自尼日尔中部撒哈拉沙漠中心的 Gobero 遗址的早期全新世渔猎人群的放射性锶同位素比值。数据表明，该狩猎采集人群的放射性锶同位素特征相对均匀，在整个生命周期或不同个体之间变化有限。尽管总体特征是本地的，但放射性锶同位素数据的一些变化可能反映了向附近艾因山脉的迁徙。与其他被认为相对定居的全世界狩猎采集者群体相比，来自 Gobero 的数据变化较小。来自 Gobero 的锶数据也与利比亚西南部同时期的遗址有显著差异。这些模式将根据社区组织和技术进化的考古模型进行讨论。
