SGER: Exploration for Plio-Pleistocene Hominid Sites in South Africa

在过去的四十年里，对上新世-更新世古人类的研究主要集中在东非遗址的化石和人工制品的勘探和恢复上。南非所有已知的五个南方古猿遗址都是在1924年至1948年间发现的；四十多年来没有发现新的地方。为了了解东非以外的早期人类的发展过程，为了获得更精确的时间关系图，在非洲南部发现更多的化石地点是至关重要的。南部非洲的上新世-更新世沉积物以德兰士瓦体系灰岩中的角砾岩填充洞穴为代表。该项目的目的是对德兰士瓦体系东部悬崖的露头进行系统的探索性调查，寻找角砾岩化石洞穴，并确定未来长期挖掘的地点。找到这样一个有价值的地点的机会可能不高，但如果找到这样一个地点，对人类学的极端价值使这次探索成为最值得的冒险。

Research in Plio-Pleistocene hominid paleontology over the past four decades has focused largely on exploration and recovery of fossils and artifacts from sites in East Africa. All five known australopithecine sites in southern Africa were discovered between 1924 and 1948; no new locality has been found in over forty years. In order to appreciate the course of early hominid development beyond that represented in East Africa, and in order to gain a more precise picture of chronological relationships, it is critical that additional fossiliferous localities be discovered in southern Africa. Plio-Pleistocene sediments in southern Africa are represented by breccia-filled caves within the limestones of the Transvaal System. The purpose of this project is to undertake a systematic, exploratory survey of the outcrops along the eastern escarpment of the Transvaal System for fossiliferous breccia caves, and to identify sites for future, long-term excavation. The chances of finding such a rewarding site may not be high, but the extreme value to anthropology if such a site is found makes this exploration a most worthwhile risk.