HRRBAA: Paleontology and paleoanthropology of a potential Late Miocene site in the Laikipia highlands

HRRBAA：莱基皮亚高地晚中新世潜在遗址的古生物学和古人类学

• 批准号: 1913218
• 负责人: William Barr
• 金额: $ 2.66万
• 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: 2019-11-01 至 2023-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1913218&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: HRRBAA; Paleontology; paleoanthropology; potential; Late

The period between 11.6 - 5.33 million years ago (the Late Miocene) was a major turning point in human and ape evolution, with the human, gorilla, and chimpanzee lineages all originating during this interval. The recognizable fauna of the African savanna as we know it - dominated by elephants, zebras, and many kinds of antelopes - was also established during this critical interval of environmental change, characterized by expanding C4 vegetation (predominantly grasses). Despite the importance of the Late Miocene in human and mammalian evolution, the fossil record from the Late Miocene in eastern Africa is restricted to only a handful of sites in the East African Rift System (EARS). This high-risk research project will improve our understanding of human and mammalian evolution in the Late Miocene by developing the scientific potential of a newly discovered fossil site called Tumbili Estate, located outside the EARS in the highlands of Laikipia County, Kenya. This project will provide research experience for American and Kenyan undergraduate and graduate students, which will bolster the researcher pipeline and lead to a more globally engaged workforce. Through our partnership with the Laikipia Forum, a consortium of local Kenyan stakeholders, this project will enhance the understanding of human evolution among community members, and give local people a voice in the science being conducted on their land. DNA evidence has firmly established that the human, gorilla and chimpanzee lineages originated during the Late Miocene. However, the fossil evidence for the origin of these lineages is meager. The known ape fossils from the Late Miocene are fragmentary, and the potential links between the fossils and the modern apes are largely unknown. The recovery of additional fossil ape and/or hominin (i.e., human ancestor) fossils from this time period is the key to understanding the origin of the hominin, gorilla, and chimpanzee lineages. This research project will confirm the age and extent of sediments at the Tumbili Estate, which likely date between 9 - 10 Ma based on fossils previously recovered, and also allow survey of nearby areas for additional sites. Analysis of the paleoenvironment at Tumbili will provide valuable new data bearing on the timing of the C4 vegetation expansion and the modernization of the African mammalian fauna. The fact that Tumbili is located on a high-elevation plateau far outside the EARS will add significantly to our understanding of the spatial and altitudinal variation of the habitats on the landscape during the Late Miocene.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.

11.6 - 533万年前（晚中新世）是人类和猿进化的一个重要转折点，人类、大猩猩和黑猩猩谱系都起源于这一时期。 我们所知的非洲稀树草原动物群（以大象、斑马和多种羚羊为主）也是在这一环境变化的关键时期建立的，其特点是 C4 植被（主要是草）的扩张。尽管晚中新世在人类和哺乳动物进化中具有重要意义，但东非晚中新世的化石记录仅限于东非裂谷系统（EARS）的少数地点。这个高风险的研究项目将通过开发位于肯尼亚莱基皮亚县高地 EARS 之外的新发现化石地点 Tumbili Estate 的科学潜力，提高我们对中新世晚期人类和哺乳动物进化的理解。该项目将为美国和肯尼亚的本科生和研究生提供研究经验，这将加强研究人员队伍，并导致更多的全球参与的劳动力队伍。通过我们与肯尼亚当地利益相关者联盟 Laikipia Forum 的合作，该项目将增强社区成员对人类进化的理解，并让当地人在他们的土地上进行的科学研究中拥有发言权。 DNA 证据已明确证明人类、大猩猩和黑猩猩谱系起源于中新世晚期。然而，这些谱系起源的化石证据却很少。已知的中新世晚期的猿类化石是零碎的，这些化石与现代猿类之间的潜在联系在很大程度上尚不清楚。恢复这一时期的其他猿类和/或古人类（即人类祖先）化石是了解古人类、大猩猩和黑猩猩谱系起源的关键。该研究项目将确认 Tumbili 庄园沉积物的年龄和范围，根据之前发现的化石，其年代可能为 9-10 Ma，并且还可以对附近地区进行调查以寻找其他地点。对图姆比利古环境的分析将为 C4 植被扩张的时间和非洲哺乳动物区系的现代化提供有价值的新数据。 Tumbili 位于 EARS 之外的高海拔高原上，这一事实将极大地加深我们对中新世晚期景观栖息地的空间和海拔变化的理解。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为是值得的通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来获得支持。