Revealing Hominid Origins

揭示原始人类的起源

• 批准号: 0321893
• 负责人: Tim White
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-07-15 至 2010-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0321893&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Revealing; Hominid; Origins

The origin and evolution of Hominidae (our zoological family) constitutes a fundamental scientific problem. An unprecedented phase of discovery bearing on this problem is underway across the world. The fossil record for hominids has recently doubled in length, now extending into the 5 to 7 million-year period--a time formerly identified by molecular studies as central to hominid origins. The newly-discovered fossils and contextual data have invigorated field and laboratory studies spanning the eastern hemisphere. Science now stands on the threshold of revealing the paleobiology of the ancestral hominid, complete with crucial contextual evidence. This wealth of novel and increasingly diverse primary field-generated data has challenged the abilities of individuals and research teams to compare, integrate, and disseminate their results.The Revealing Hominid Origins Initiative (RHOI) is focused on the 5 to 7 million-year interval wherein recent finds bear directly and profoundly upon scientific concepts of humanity's place in nature. This interdisciplinary and international initiative constitutes a sustained effort to illuminate the origin and earliest evolution of Hominidae. It is explicitly collaborative. It will support ongoing research in 15 countries, by nearly 50 core research scientists, and hundreds of other paleontologists, geologists, geochronologists, zoologists, and other scientists in allied disciplines. The international RHOI collaboration is designed to activate and accelerate research at many African and Eurasian field sites; to facilitate analyses in the laboratories around the world; to enhance interdisciplinary activities among earth and biological scientists; to build infrastructure in the developing world; and to speed the dissemination of data, thereby greatly extending human origins research in scope and in scale. The initiative is specifically organized to support, improve, and extend field and laboratory work, including exploration, excavation, discovery, and analysis. The RHOI will integrate research by creating and supporting international analytical working groups; by enhancing paleoanthropological infrastructure; and by creating innovative and integrative informatics mechanisms for data sharing.The broadened impact of the initiative is epitomized by the structure of research teams and communication within and between such teams. Research results will transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries as present and ancient environments, biomes, and biotas are explored. The collaborative initiative is designed to bring insights and consequences of cutting-edge research on hominid origins promptly to the international scientific community, the lay audience, and the classroom. Professional participants and associated field and laboratory technical and support staff will all reflect a commitment toward enhancing the involvement of people from many nations, ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds. Given the prominence of human origins research, the initiative will foster similar efforts in role-model building. It will promote and deepen education across international boundaries and throughout the sciences. RHOI will couple this inclusivity with the enhancement of infrastructure, the promotion of international communication, and the furtherance of educational efforts in specifically developing-world research settings across Africa. Correspondingly, and in keeping with enhancements in electronic communication, the nature and consequences of research supported by the initiative will receive wide and prompt dissemination to a worldwide audience far beyond the paleoanthropological, earth and biological sciences communities.

人科（我们的动物学家族）的起源和进化构成了一个基本的科学问题。在这个问题上，一个前所未有的发现阶段正在世界各地进行。古人类化石记录的长度最近增加了一倍，现在延伸到500万到700万年的时期——这段时间以前被分子研究确定为古人类起源的中心时期。新发现的化石和背景数据激发了整个东半球的实地和实验室研究。科学现在站在揭示原始人类祖先的古生物学的门槛上，完成了关键的背景证据。这些新颖且日益多样化的原始野外数据对个人和研究团队比较、整合和传播其结果的能力提出了挑战。揭示原始人起源计划（RHOI）关注的是500万到700万年的时间间隔，其中最近的发现直接和深刻地影响了人类在自然中地位的科学概念。这一跨学科和国际首创构成了阐明人科起源和最早进化的持续努力。它是明确的协作。它将支持15个国家正在进行的研究，由近50名核心研究科学家，以及数百名其他古生物学家、地质学家、地质年代学家、动物学家和其他相关学科的科学家参与。国际RHOI合作旨在激活和加速非洲和欧亚许多实地地点的研究；促进世界各地实验室的分析；加强地球和生物科学家之间的跨学科活动；在发展中国家建设基础设施；并加快数据的传播，从而大大扩展人类起源研究的范围和规模。该计划是专门为支持、改进和扩展现场和实验室工作而组织的，包括勘探、挖掘、发现和分析。RHOI将通过创建和支持国际分析工作组来整合研究；加强古人类基础设施建设；并通过创建创新的综合信息学机制来共享数据。研究团队的结构以及团队内部和团队之间的沟通体现了该计划扩大的影响。研究成果将超越传统的学科界限，因为现在和古代的环境，生物群系，和生物区系的探索。这项合作计划的目的是将有关原始人类起源的前沿研究的见解和结果迅速带给国际科学界、非专业观众和课堂。专业参与者以及相关的现场和实验室技术和支持人员都将反映出对加强来自许多国家、种族、性别和背景的人员参与的承诺。鉴于人类起源研究的重要性，该倡议将促进在建立榜样方面的类似努力。它将促进和深化跨国界和跨科学的教育。RHOI将把这种包容性与加强基础设施、促进国际交流以及在非洲各地特别是发展中国家的研究环境中推动教育工作结合起来。相应地，随着电子通讯的发展，该计划所支持的研究的性质和结果将得到广泛而迅速的传播，远远超出古人类学、地球学和生物科学界的范围。