Dissertation Research: Archaeological Occurrences at East Turkana

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Under the direction of Dr. John Harris, Mr. Michael Rogers will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will conduct archaeological survey and excavation in the region East of Lake Turkana in Kenya. He will focus his attention on a geological stratum known as the Okote Member and which dates to ca. 1.64-1.39 million years ago. Previous work has recovered both stone tools and associated faunal remains and thus demonstrated that this region was inhabited by early hominids. However little is known about the behavior of these early humans. Through a study both of the distribution of different kinds of lithic remains over space and of their association with faunal remains and each other, Mr. Rogers should gain insight into how activities were spaced over the landscape. This research is important for several reasons. First, it will increase our understanding of the emergence of modern humans. It is clear that behavior, and behavioral changes have played a major role in the development of our species yet for the earlier stages of this process, relatively little is known. Mr. Rogers' research will help to fill this gap. Secondly, this research will help to develop and refine techniques of archaeological analysis. The methods Mr. Rogers will use may be applicable in many time periods and many regions of the world. Finally this grant will help to train an extremely promising young scientist.