Middle Palaeolithic Human Occupation and Palaeoenvironment in Sahelian West Africa - A Geochronological and Geoarchaeological Investigation of Oungougou, Mali

Projektinformationen

MALI-ENV AND ARCHEOLOGY

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 501195

Projekt abgeschlossen

Startdatum 19 Januar 2004

Enddatum 18 Januar 2006

Finanziert unter

• Human resources and Mobility in the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration "Structuring the European Research Area" under the Sixth Framework Programme 2002-2006

Gesamtkosten € 167 665,00

EU-Beitrag € 158 479,00

Koordiniert durch

CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
United Kingdom

Ziel

Evidence of Middle Palaeolithic human settlements in sub-Saharan West Africa are relatively uncommon, badly or not dated, and are generally known from surface sites or secondary stratigraphic context. The discovery of a Pleistocene sedimentary sequence with numerous archaeological levels at Ounjougou (Dogon Country, Mali), is therefore of considerable significance as it allows the establishment of a chrono-cultural reference framework for the West African Palaeolithic, in turn establishing the chronological and archaeological site in an African and Asian context. Preliminary optical dating investigations have tentatively place the age of the Middle Palaeolithic elements of the site as occurring with the last glacial-interglacial cycle (m.i.s. 5-2).

This project will undertake a systematic dating evaluation of the site using new technologies in lunrinescence dating, in doing so correlating the record of human habitation to other sites across Africa and Asia to further inform the debate surrounding the emergence and distribution of anatomically modern humans during the period. We propose the analysis of both sedimentary horizons and burnt flints (wherever possible directly comparing these results to radiocarbon and other independent methods) as the best means by which a systematic chronostratigraphy may be developed.

The dating investigation (incorporating both single grain and red luminescence methodologies) is designed to both fully evaluate the potential of these exciting new approaches and also to gain the maximum yield of age-related information from the preserved archaeological and sedimentary (including fluvial, colluvial and aeolian) deposits.

This work will be undertaken within a context of a wider programme which will simultaneously undertake concurrent palaeoenvironmental, archaeological and dating analyses at other key sites across North Africa and Asia, allowing the fellow to work and interact with a wide community.

Wissenschaftliches Gebiet

• agricultural sciences › agriculture, forestry, and fisheries › agriculture › grains and oilseeds
• humanities › history and archaeology › archaeology › ethnoarchaeology

Schlüsselbegriffe

• Optical dating
• Sahel
• geoarchaeology
• palaeoenvironment
• red luminescence
• single grains fluvial deposits

Programm/Programme

• FP6-MOBILITY - Human resources and Mobility in the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration "Structuring the European Research Area" under the Sixth Framework Programme 2002-2006

Thema/Themen

• MOBILITY-2.1 - Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowships (EIF)

Aufforderung zur Vorschlagseinreichung

FP6-2002-MOBILITY-5
Andere Projekte für diesen Aufruf anzeigen

Finanzierungsplan

EIF - Marie Curie actions-Intra-European Fellowships

Koordinator

CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

• EU-Beitrag: Keine Daten
• Adresse: University Offices, Wellington Square ; OXFORD ; Vereinigtes Königreich
• Gesamtkosten: Keine Daten