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

埃塞俄比亚的阿法尔地区因其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，有些可以追溯到六百万年前，在该地区被发现。 虽然阿法尔裂谷的一些地区已经被调查，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。埃塞俄比亚政府的文化遗产研究和保护管理局向Yohannes Haile-Selassie及其同事提供了为期一年的调查和勘探许可证，以确定未来具有进一步研究潜力的新古人类学遗址。 根据这一许可证，研究人员将能够探索以前未调查的地区，以便在北部和中部阿法尔裂谷找到新的上新世-更新世和晚中新世遗址。 虽然这一时间段是研究人员的主要兴趣，但发现的更近的地点将提供给更广泛的科学界。 将利用卫星图像和利用遥感进行的空中侦察以及步行和车辆调查来协助确定有希望的地点。 除了发现我们物种的祖先的知识兴奋和公众呼吁外，这个人类学高风险研究奖将使位于美国和埃塞俄比亚的埃塞俄比亚科学家能够进行真正的国际合作。

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.