Dissertation Research: Modern Analog Study of Landscape Vegetation Contexts across the Lowermost Bed II Olduvai Basin

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Under the direction of Dr. Robert Blumenschine, MS Sandi Copeland will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. Her ultimate goal is the reconstruct the vegetation patterns at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania during a time interval ca. 1.7 million years ago. A large scale archaeological project directed by Dr. Blumenschine has focused on broadly exposed sediments which date to this time horizon. The group has collected large samples of both faunal and artifact remains which have the potential to provide insight into how early hominids utilized the landscape. However to understand early human behavior it is necessary to project these data on a detailed landscape reconstruction because only when one understands the distributions of trees, open grassland and potentially edible food species is it possible to reconstruct subsistence strategy. Although some data such as soil carbonate samples are available, these are not sufficient to accomplish the desired goal. With an innovative research design MS Copeland will examine modern analog landscapes. Based on geological similarity with Olduvai, she has located three regions in Tanzania which share essential characteristics with different parts of the paleo-landscape. She shall conduct careful vegetation analyses of these present day environments using sampling techniques. She will focus on resources such as potential plant foods and sleeping trees of presumed importance to early hominids to determine their density, distribution and association. She will also collect geological data which will allow her to `pin` the detailed modern patterns on the Olduvai landscape. This research is important for several reasons. It will help to develop a methodological tool which may be applied in many environments in many parts of the world. It will shed new light on early hominid behavior at a classic African site. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.