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: 1853364
• 负责人: Brian Villmoare
• 金额: $ 13.1万
• 依托单位: University of Nevada Las Vegas
• 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 2022-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1853364&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.

2.5至300万年前（Ma）之间的时期长期以来一直被认为是古人类进化中最关键的时期之一。 3.0 Ma 时，东部和南部非洲的化石记录中出现了多种南方古猿。到了 2.5 Ma，南方古猿大部分灭绝了，取而代之的是两个独立的谱系，它们对环境的适应能力截然不同。其中一个谱系就是我们自己的“人属”，其特征是大脑尺寸增大和对物质文化的依赖，这种模式在过去的几百万年里一直持续存在。另一个谱系，Paranthropus，持续了超过 100 万年，以三个物种为代表，它们具有独特的牙齿和面部适应能力，可以吃坚硬的食物。尽管这个区间具有明显的重要性，但它在化石记录中的表现却很差，而且几乎没有发现化石标本可以阐明这些谱系起源的原因和模式。勒迪-格拉鲁研究项目在包括这一重要时间间隔的化石区域开展工作，旨在阐明与南方古猿灭绝以及智人和傍人出现相关的问题。调查人员将把这项工作的结果用于有关古人类谱系的公共科学推广，包括环境变化和古人类适应之间的重要关系。该项目还将促进国际合作和学生培训。 在过去十年中，研究人员在埃塞俄比亚阿法尔地区发现了距今 2.9 至 2.4 Ma 的化石沉积物。这些沉积物中发现的化石包括一个 280 万年前的下颌骨，它是已知最早的人属代表，其他化石表明该地区大约在同一时间存在多种古人类物种。此外，勒迪-格拉鲁研究项目地区的几个地点显示证据表明，古人类正在使用石器来获取动物组织和资源。将在 Ledi-Geraru 项目现场进行持续的古人类学研究，以回收更多的化石和考古材料，并更好地了解古人类行为与环境背景之间的关系。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估，被认为值得支持以及更广泛的影响审查标准。