Gona Paleoanthropological Research Project

人类的起源似乎在非洲。在埃塞俄比亚出土了人类远古祖先的一些最早、最令人兴奋的痕迹。在这里，pi提议在埃塞俄比亚中西部阿法尔地区（Gona）一个非常有前途的地区进行进一步的古人类学和考古学调查。戈纳项目在2001年计划的实地考察中有三个主要研究目标。其中包括详细的地质研究和考古发掘：1)DAN1，一个260万年前的新考古遗址，有已知最早的原位石器和动物骨骼化石的证据；2)BSN12，一个发现了直立人的部分头骨和相关的奥尔多瓦和早期阿舍利石器的遗址，估计在1.5-1.0万年之间；3) DAN5，在那里发现了一个几乎完整的早期人类头骨，估计在2 -1.5万年之间，与表面的奥尔多安和早期阿舍利文物有关。1999年发现了dan1和BSN12, 2000年发现了DAN5。此前在戈纳的研究已经发现了数千件可追溯到2.5万年的石器，但在挖掘中没有发现动物骨骼化石。最近在阿瓦什中部研究地区的布里发现了距今2.5万年的带有石器切割痕迹的骨头，但没有发现与这些骨头直接相关的出土文物。尽管没有与切割过的骨头直接相关的人工制品，但有人认为，祖先人类开始制造人工制品来加工尸体以获取肉类。到目前为止，最早的相关器物和骨头的证据来自于距今2.3万年的哈达尔沉积物。2000年在戈纳（DAN1）发现的石器和相关的动物骨头是唯一已知的2.6万年的原位石器和相关的动物骨头。这个新遗址有望为了解早期人类的饮食、研究最早的石器工具的功能以及为引发早期人类片状石头生产的因素提供重要线索提供关键证据。BSN12和DAN5遗址出土了重要的原始人、石器制品和保存完好的动物群。然而，还需要进一步的考古和古生物试验挖掘以及详细的地质研究：1)确定这些遗址的年代；2)确定原始人、人工制品和骨骼化石之间的地层关系。地质研究的一个主要组成部分将包括沉积物取样，用于古地磁分析，凝灰岩取样，用于地球化学对比，以确定这些重要发现的年代。

The roots of our species appear to be in Africa. Some of the earliest and most exciting traces of our distant ancestry have been unearthed in Ethiopia. Here the PIs propose to pursue further paleoanthropological and archaeological investigations in a very promising area of the West Central Afar region of Ethiopia, or the Gona. The Gona Project has three major research goals for the fieldwork planned in 2001. These include detailed geological studies and archaeological excavations at 1) DAN1, a new 2.6 million year old (my) archaeological site with evidence of the earliest known in situ stone artifacts and fossilized animal bones, 2) BSN12, a site which yielded a partial skull of a Homo erectus and associated Oldowan and Early Acheulian stone artifacts estimated between 1.5-1.0 my, and 3) DAN5 where a nearly complete skull of an early Homo estimated between 2,0-1.5 my was discovered in association with surface Oldowan and Early Acheulian artifacts. DAN1and BSN12 were identified in 1999 and DAN5 was discovered in 2000. Previous research at Gona has resulted in the discovery of thousands of stone tools dated to 2.5 my, but fossilized animal bones were absent from the excavations. Bones with evidence of stone tool cut-marks dated to 2.5 my were recently discovered at Bouri, in the Middle Awash study area, but there were no excavated artifacts found in direct association with the bones. Despite the lack of artifacts in direct association with cut-marked bones, it was argued that ancestral humans began making artifacts for processing carcasses for meat. Thus far, the earliest evidence for associated artifacts and bones comes from Hadar in deposits dated to 2.3 my. The only known 2.6 my old in situ stone artifacts and associated animal bones are those discovered in the year 2000 from Gona (at DAN1). This new site promises to yield critical evidence for understanding early human diet, for studying the function of the earliest stone tools and for providing important clues regarding the factors that triggered early human flaked stone production. The BSN12 and DAN5 sites have yielded important hominids, stone artifacts and well-preserved fauna. However, further archaeological and paleontological test-excavations, and detailed geological studies are needed 1) to firmly determine the age of the sites and 2) to ascertain the stratigraphic relationships of the hominids, the artifacts and the fossil bones. A major component of the geological study will involve sampling of sediments for paleomagnetic analyses and tuffs for geochemical correlations for resolving the age of these important discoveries.