Fossiliferous Cave Breccias in South Africa

非洲似乎是我们最早的祖先进化的地方。虽然这些最早的原始人的最初发现是在南非，但最近的大多数发现都在东非。尽管如此，南非有许多遗址是潜在的化石来源，这可能会揭示与我们进化的早期阶段有关的许多特别重要的问题。例如，我们不确定迄今已知的南非化石的年代、它们与东非材料的关系、所代表的物种数量、南非人的工具制造能力等。所有这些都对阐明人类进化具有明显的重要性。然而，寻找化石遗址确实是一项冒险的任务。网站的搜索可能会连续数年徒劳无功，因此项目在投资于“回报”可能性有限的项目时会犹豫不决。目前的提案要求提供资金，以调查南非一个已知拥有适当年龄的石灰岩矿藏的地区。目前还没有对这些矿床进行系统的调查，PI打算确定哪些角砾岩有化石的迹象，更准确的沉积物年龄。PI之前在北部和东部的一个地区做了一些工作。有合理的地质和古生物学理由认为，这里要调查的洞穴可能被证明是化石。

Africa appears to be the place in which our earliest ancestors evolved. While the original discoveries of these earliest hominids were made in South Africa, most of the recent discoveries have been in East Africa. There are nonetheless many sites in South Africa which are potential sources of fossils which could shed light on a multitude of exceptionally important questions related to the early stages of our evolution. For instance, we are uncertain as to the ages of the South African fossils known to date, their relationship to the East African materials, the numbers of species represented, the tool- manufacturing capabilities of the South Africans etc. All of these are of clear importance in elucidating human evolution. Yet, looking for fossiliferous sites is a truly risky undertaking. Sites may be searched in vain for years on end and thus programs are hesitant to invest in projects which have a limited likelihood of "paying off." The current proposal requests funds to survey a region of South Africa which is known to contain limestone deposits of the appropriate age. No systematic survey of these deposits has yet been undertaken and the PI intends to determine which breccias have indications of bearing fossils, more precise ages of the deposits. The PI has done some prior work in an area to the north and east. There are reasonable geological and paleontological reasons to think that the caves here to be investigated may prove to be fossiliferous.