Collaborative Research: Hominin diversity, paleobiology, and behavior at the terminal Pliocene

合作研究：上新世末期的古人类多样性、古生物学和行为

• 批准号: 1853355
• 负责人: David Braun
• 金额: $ 8.28万
• 依托单位: George Washington University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-06-15 至 2021-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1853355&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Hominin; diversity; paleobiology

The period of time between 2.5 to 3.0 million years ago (Ma) has long been considered one of the most critical in hominin evolution. At 3.0 Ma, multiple species of Australopithecus are represented in the fossil record across eastern and southern Africa. By 2.5 Ma, Australopithecus mostly died out, and in its place evolved two separate lineages with very different adaptations to the environment. One lineage is our own, Homo, characterized by a pattern of increased brain size and dependence on material culture that has persisted over the last several million years. The other lineage, Paranthropus, lasted over 1 million years, and was represented by three species with unique dental and facial adaptations for potentially eating tough or hard foods. Despite the obvious importance of this interval, it is poorly represented in the fossil record and few fossil specimens have been found that can shed light on the causes and patterns of the origins of these lineages. The Ledi-Geraru Research Project works in a fossiliferous region that includes this important time interval and aims to illuminate the issues relevant to the extinction of Australopithecus and the emergence of Homo and Paranthropus. The investigators will use the results of this work in public science outreach about the hominin lineage, including the critical relationship between environmental variance and hominin adaptations. The project also will foster international collaborations and student training. In the last decade, the investigators have identified fossiliferous sediments in the Afar region of Ethiopia that range from 2.9 to 2.4 Ma before present. Finds from these sediments include a 2.8 million year old mandible that is the earliest known representative of the genus Homo, and additional fossils suggesting that there were multiple hominin species existing at roughly the same time in the region. In addition, several localities in the Ledi-Geraru Research Project area show evidence that hominins were using stone tools to gain access to animal tissues and resources. Continued paleoanthropological research will be conducted at Ledi-Geraru Project sites to recover additional fossil and archaeological materials and better understand relationships between hominin behaviors and environmental contexts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

长期以来，在2.5到30万年前（MA）之间的时间段内被认为是人类进化中最关键的一段时间之一。在3.0 MA时，在东部和南部非洲的化石记录中，多种种类的澳大利亚座位代表了多种物种。到2.5 Ma，Australopithecus大部分消失了，而其位置则进化了两个单独的谱系，对环境的适应性截然不同。一个血统是我们自己的同性恋，其特征是大脑大小的增加和对物质文化的依赖，这种模式在过去几百万年中一直存在。另一个谱系，paranthropus持续了100万年，并由三种物种代表，具有独特的牙科和面部适应性，可潜在地食用坚硬或硬食物。尽管此间隔显而易见，但在化石记录中的代表性很差，很少发现化石标本可以揭示这些谱系起源的原因和模式。 Ledi-Geraru研究项目在一个化石区域工作，其中包括此重要的时间间隔，并旨在阐明与Australopithecus灭绝以及HOMO和PARANTHROPUS的出现有关的问题。调查人员将在公共科学范围内使用有关人类谱系的这项工作的结果，包括环境差异和人类适应性之间的关键关系。该项目还将培养国际合作和学生培训。 在过去的十年中，调查人员在埃塞俄比亚远处确定了化石沉积物，在现在之前的2.9至2.4 mA。这些沉积物中的发现包括280万年的下颌骨，是最早的人类属的代表，以及其他化石，表明该地区大约同一时间存在多种人类物种。此外，Ledi-Geraru研究项目领域的几个地区表明，人类正在使用石材工具来获取动物组织和资源。将继续在Ledi-Geraru项目地点进行古人类学研究，以恢复其他化石和考古材料，并更好地理解人类行为和环境环境之间的关系。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子和更广泛影响的评估来审查审查标准来通过评估来支持的。