Paleoanthropological and Geological Research at the Hadar Hominid Site, Ethiopia: 1995-96

埃塞俄比亚哈达尔原始人类遗址的古人类学和地质研究：1995-96

• 批准号: 9511172
• 负责人: William Kimbel
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institute of Human Origins
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing grant
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-06-15 至 1998-10-23
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9511172&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Paleoanthropological; Geological; Research; Hadar; Hominid

The Ethiopian site of Hadar is renowned for its rich yield of fossils, including numerous, well preserved remains of human ancestors - the Hominidae. Early work at Hadar added significantly to the understnding of human evolution in the middle Pliocene (ca. 3 - 4 million years ago) at a time when the hominid record older than 3 million years ago was a virtual void. The identification of the species Australopithecus afarensis relied heavily on the Hadar hominid sample, which by 1977 comprised nearly 250 specimens (including `Lucy`) and promoted refreshed debate on early hominid systematics and paleobiology. Since 1990 Hadar has been once again the focus of paleoanthropological and geological field research. Four seasons of fieldwork have resulted in further important hominid finds, including the first fairly complete adult skull of A. afarensis, in geological and climatic context. Now, fieldwork here is taking a trun toward the upper deposits in the Hadar Formation, those younger than 3 million years. This period saw the rise of the `robust` australopithecine line and the origin of our own. This new grant, for another two years of excavation, will focus on: 1) further investigation of the younger sediments in the Hadar Formation, and 2) new excavations at the still prolific `Lucy` locality.

埃塞俄比亚的哈达尔遗址以其丰富的化石产量而闻名，其中包括许多保存完好的人类祖先-人科的遗骸。 哈达尔的早期工作大大增加了对上新世中期人类进化的理解。 300 - 400万年前），当时300万年前的原始人类记录是一个虚拟的空白。 南方古猿阿法种的鉴定在很大程度上依赖于哈达尔人科样本，到1977年，该样本包括近250个标本（包括“露西”），并促进了对早期人科系统学和古生物学的重新辩论。 自1990年以来，哈达尔再次成为古人类学和地质实地研究的重点。 四个季节的野外工作带来了更多重要的原始人类发现，包括第一个相当完整的A。afarensis，in geological地质and climate气候context背景. 现在，这里的野外工作正在转向哈达尔组的上层沉积物，这些沉积物的年龄小于300万年。 这一时期见证了“粗壮”南方古猿谱系的崛起和我们自己的起源。 这项新的赠款，为另一个两年的挖掘，将集中在：1）进一步调查的年轻沉积物在哈达尔形成，和2）新的挖掘在仍然多产的'露西'地点。