Paleoanthropological Exploration in the Manonga Valley of Northern Tanzania

该项目的目的是在坦桑尼亚北部的马农加山谷启动一项古生物和地质勘探计划，以确定该地区化石遗址用于研究人类进化的潜力。首席调查员在1990年进行的初步勘察表明，马农加山谷是一个具有巨大潜力的未来古人类学研究地区，以前几乎完全没有勘探过。古湖盆拥有广泛的、暴露良好的和丰富的化石沉积，现在可以被认为是东非最重要的古生物研究领域之一。在400万年前的非洲，只有几个孤立的、支离破碎的早期人类祖先化石遗骸被人们所知。马农加山谷遗址的估计年龄(300-600万年)，加上它们的古生物生产力，以及它们与其他产生与人类进化有关的化石的重要遗址的密切地理位置，使该地区对研究人类起源具有明显的意义。该项目的主要目标是：(1)在主要化石地点进行古生物采集，并继续寻找新的遗址；(2)进一步评估化石遗址的地质背景和年代；以及(3)获得有助于重建古湖盆古环境背景的数据。

The aim of this project is to initiate a program of paleontological and geological exploration in the Manonga Valley of northern Tanzania in order to ascertain the potential of the fossil sites in the area for the study of human evolution. A preliminary reconnaissance by the principal investigator in 1990 demonstrated that the Manonga Valley which has been almost completely unexplored previously, is an area of tremendous potential for future paleoanthropological research. The ancient lake basin, with its extensive, well-exposed and fossil-rich sediments can now be considered one of the most significant paleontological research areas in eastern Africa. Only a few isolated and fragmentary fossil remains of early human ancestors are known from Africa prior to 4 million years ago. The estimated age of the sites in the Manonga Valley (3-6 million years old), in conjunction with their paleontological productivity, and their close geographical proximity to other important sites that have yielded fossils pertinent to human evolution, makes the region of evident significance for the study of human origins. The major objectives of the project are: (1) to make paleontological collections at the principal fossil localities and to continue to prospect for new sites; (2) to further assess the geological context and the age of the fossil sites; and (3) to obtain data that will help to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental setting of the ancient lake basin.