High Risk Exploratory Research: The Archaeology, Paleontology, and Geology of the Bala Paleoanthropological Research Area in Southern Ethiopia

在国家科学基金会高风险探索奖的支持下，伊丽莎白·哈蒙博士和一个国际团队将调查埃塞俄比亚南部鲜为人知但潜在重要的巴拉古人类学研究区(BPRA)。2006年的简短实地考察发现了含有阿舍利时代、中期和晚期石器时代文物的沉积物，这表明BPRA包含了与附近的图尔卡纳盆地、下奥莫河流域和Konso重叠的人类和占领记录。这些地区提供了化石和文物，这在很大程度上支持了我们对上新世和更新世人类进化的理解。同样，BPRA可能包含大量的矿藏，这些矿藏可能有助于了解有关人属的技术和适应。2007年的实地工作目标是记录BPRA的古人类学、地质学和考古学资源，并利用这些信息确定具有重要科学价值的矿藏进行长期研究，如考古发掘和原材料来源。这项工作风险很高，因为大部分项目区都没有勘探，长期潜力也是未知的。然而，无论长期潜力如何，BPRA在地理上处于几个有价值的上更新世人类地区的中间，因此清楚地确定其古人类学潜力是很重要的。BPRA的研究将包括地面调查，以记录与人类占领该地区以及占领发生时的地质和古环境背景有关的数据。地质年代学和沉积数据是了解埃塞俄比亚南部区域地质的关键，其中可能包括用于测年的火山凝灰岩样本。化石动物群证据可能有助于评估过去的环境，并有助于确定环境在古人类进化中的作用。考古证据，如来自不同文化传统的石器，将对测量占领人类的时间段和分类归属非常重要，也可能有助于理解石器技术的变化。石材技术的变化可能与认知进步和资源采购战略的转变有关，而东非对这些问题知之甚少。BPRA项目有三个主要的更广泛的影响。第一个是作为训练场地。BPRA最终将为来自美国、加拿大、以色列和埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴大学的至少四所大学的本科生和研究生提供机会。第二个更广泛的影响来自项目的协作性质。由于参与者来自许多文化传统和许多学术学科，该项目代表了一个广阔的学术视角。在一个新项目领域工作的科学家协会必然会刺激新的研究。这项工作将在多个研究领域的同行评议出版物中传播，包括古生态学、旧石器时代考古学和裂谷地质学。最重要的是，合作包括埃塞俄比亚的专业知识，这在埃塞俄比亚古人类学中往往没有得到充分的代表。最后一个更广泛的影响涉及对埃塞俄比亚文化遗产的支持。通过在埃塞俄比亚进行实地考察，资金被用于维护和改善埃塞俄比亚文化和科学资源的基础设施。

With the support of a National Science Foundation High Risk Exploratory Award, Dr. Elizabeth Harmon and an international team will investigate the little known, but potentially important, Bala Paleoanthropological Research Area (BPRA) of southern Ethiopia. Brief fieldwork in 2006 identified deposits containing Acheulean, Middle, and Later Stone Age artifacts, which indicates that the BPRA contains a record of human and occupation that overlaps that of the nearby Turkana Basin, Lower Omo River Valley, and Konso. These areas have provided the fossils and artifacts that underpin much of our understanding of human evolution during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Similarly, the BPRA is likely to contain significant deposits that can contribute to knowledge about technology and adaptations of the genus Homo. The goal during 2007 fieldwork is to document the paleoanthropological, geological, archaeological resources in the BPRA, and to use this information to target scientifically important deposits for long-term study, such as archaeological excavations and raw material sourcing. This work is high-risk because most of the project area is unexplored, and the long-term potential is unknown. However, regardless of the long-term potential, the BPRA is geographically intermediate to several valuable Plio-Pleistocene hominin localities, and it is important to clearly establish its paleoanthropological potential. Research in the BPRA will consist of ground survey to record data relevant to the occupation of the area by hominins and the geological and paleoenvironmental setting in which the occupation occurred. The geochronological and sedimentary data, which could include samples of volcanic tuffs for chronometric dating, are the key to understanding the regional geology of southern Ethiopia. The fossil faunal evidence may contribute to evaluating past environments, and help to determine the role of the environment in hominin evolution. The archaeological evidence, such as stone tools from various cultural traditions, will be important for gauging the time period and the taxonomic affiliation of the occupying hominins, and also may help to understand lithic technological change. Changes in lithic technology can be linked to cognitive advances and shifts in resource procurement strategies, issues that are poorly understood in Eastern Africa. There are three primary broader impacts associated with the BPRA project. The first is as a training venue. The BPRA will ultimately provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from at least four universities in the USA, Canada, Israel, and Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. The second broader impact derives from the collaborative nature of the project. Because the participants are from numerous cultural traditions and from many academic disciplines, the project represents a broad academic perspective. The association of scientists working in a new project area will necessarily spur novel research. The work will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications in multiple domains of research, including paleoecology, Paleolithic archaeology, and Rift Valley geology. Most important, the collaboration includes Ethiopian expertise, which is often underrepresented in Ethiopian paleoanthropology. The final broader impact relates to support for Ethiopian cultural heritage. By conducting fieldwork in Ethiopia, money is channeled toward maintenance and improvement of the infrastructure devoted to Ethiopia's cultural and scientific resources.