HIGH RISK RESEARCH: Paleoanthropological Survey and Exploration of North and Central Afar Rift, Ethiopia

高风险研究：埃塞俄比亚北阿法尔裂谷和中阿法尔裂谷的古人类学调查与探索

• 批准号: 0234320
• 负责人: Yohannes Ambaye
• 金额: $ 1.69万
• 依托单位: Cleveland Museum of Natural History
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-02-01 至 2004-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0234320&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RISK; RESEARCH; Paleoanthropological; Survey; Exploration

The Afar region of Ethiopia is widely known for the information it has yielded that bears on the early history of humans. Many of the fossil remains of our earliest relatives, some dating back dating back to six million years ago, were found in the region. While a number of areas of the Afar Rift have been investigated for evidence of our evolutionary past, uncovering further sites is an exciting proposition. The Ethiopian government's Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage has provided Yohannes Haile-Selassie and colleagues with a one year survey and exploration permit to locate new paleoanthropological sites with high potential for further research in the future. Under this permit the researchers will be able to explore previously unsurveyed regions in order to locate new Plio-Pleistocene and late Miocene sites in the North and Central Afar Rift. While this time period is the chief interest of the investigators, more recent sites that are discovered will be made available to the broader scientific community. Satellite imagery and aerial reconnaissance using remote sensing will be employed, as well as foot and vehicle surveys, to assist in locating promising sites. In addition to the intellectual excitement and public appeal of uncovering our species' ancestry, this High Risk Research in Anthropology award will enable a truly international collaboration with Ethiopian scientists based in both the United States and Ethiopia.

埃塞俄比亚的阿法尔地区因其所提供的有关人类早期历史的信息而广为人知。 我们最早的亲戚的许多化石遗骸都是在该地区发现的，其中一些可以追溯到六百万年前。 虽然阿法尔裂谷的许多地区已经被调查以寻找我们进化历史的证据，但发现更多的地点是一个令人兴奋的提议。埃塞俄比亚政府文化遗产研究与保护局向约翰内斯·海尔-塞拉西及其同事提供了为期一年的调查和勘探许可证，以寻找未来具有进一步研究潜力的新古人类遗址。 根据该许可，研究人员将能够探索以前未调查的地区，以便在阿法尔裂谷北部和中部找到新的上新世-更新世和晚中新世遗址。 虽然这一时期是研究人员的主要兴趣，但最近发现的地点将提供给更广泛的科学界。 将利用卫星图像和遥感空中侦察以及步行和车辆勘测来协助寻找有希望的地点。 除了揭示我们物种祖先的知识兴奋和公众吸引力之外，人类学高风险研究奖还将促进与美国和埃塞俄比亚的埃塞俄比亚科学家进行真正的国际合作。