Anthropological Field Research on the Giant Lemurs and Associated Fauna of Northern Madagascar

这项研究的目的是恢复和描述马达加斯加的灵长类动物（包括人类）和其他脊椎动物化石，这些化石将反映出关于大约800到2000年前发生在那里的一波大灭绝的新知识。化石将从马达加斯加西北部安卡拉那山脉的洞穴中回收，此前的短期探险表明，那里有大量的巨型狐猴和其他化石。这些化石将被准备好并进行解剖学分析，以了解灵长类动物的一些极端适应。马达加斯加化石记录中某些鸟类和哺乳动物化石的消失传统上被认为是由人类干预造成的，而不是由环境变化造成的。这项研究将提供关于灭绝原因的证据，并有助于区分这两种相互竞争的马达加斯加灭绝理论。

The purpose of this research is to recover and describe primate (including human) and other vertebrate fossils from Madagascar that will reflect new knowledge about a major wave of extinction that occurred there between about 800 and 2000 years ago. Fossils will be recovered from caves in the Ankarana Range of Northwestern Madagascar where prior short expeditions have indicated that giant lemurs and other fossils are abundant. The fossils will be prepared and analyzed anatomically in order to understand some of the extremes of adaptation within the Order Primates. The disappearance of certain fossil birds and mammals from the fossil record in Madagascar has traditionally been thought to have been caused by human intervention rather than by environmental change. This study will provide evidence about the cause of extinction and help to distinguish between these two competing theories of extinction on Madagascar.