Collaborative Research: Renewed Field Investigation of Australopithecus anamensis Sites at Kanapoi, Kenya

人类谱系中最早的确定成员是南方古猿阿纳马（Australopithecus anamensis），它于420万年前首次出现在肯尼亚的卡纳波伊。 已经确定的是，后来的南方古猿物种是两足动物，有强壮的牙齿和颌骨，大脑比猿类稍大，居住在更开阔的地区。 阿南南方古猿在牙齿和颌骨上与后来的物种相似，一根腿骨表明它也是两足动物，但在化石记录中知之甚少。 确定哪些性状存在于A. anamensis是理解南方古猿为何以及如何进化的关键。这次国际合作（美国，肯尼亚，瑞典）更新了Kanapoi的野外工作，以恢复更多的A。anamensis化石，并测试他们出现在开放栖息地的背景下的假设。古生物学家将绘制微型动物（啮齿动物、青蛙等）的分布图。和大型动物探索当地栖息地的变化，这是一个独特的机会，因为保存微型动物的地点很少见。地质学家将完善沉积物的年代测定，并分析土壤中的碳同位素，以重建该地区的植被。解剖学家将分析所有动物牙齿中的微观牙齿磨损和同位素，以探索它们的饮食，这为环境提供了额外的证据。 这些合作研究焦点将有助于确定哪些特征是南方古猿起源的特征，以及这些特征与环境背景的关系-这是理解人类进化的原因和方式的关键。 该项目创建了一个新的国际合作团队，是一个由女性人类学家（Ward）和肯尼亚古生物学家（Manthi）领导的实地项目。 肯尼亚和美国学生将通过共同参与实地研究接受培训;肯尼亚学生将在一名肯尼亚导师的指导下接受培训，女学生将在一名女科学家的指导下接受培训。 该项目的大量外联和教育活动将在当地Kanapoi地区、肯尼亚-Lodwar国家博物馆和肯尼亚内罗毕的学校进行。将通过项目网站传播成果，进一步扩大这一外联活动。

The earliest definitive members of the human lineage are Australopithecus anamensis, which first appeared at the Kanapoi, Kenya, 4.2 million years ago. It is well established that later Australopithecus species were bipedal, with strong teeth and jaws, a slightly larger brain than apes, and inhabited more open country. Australopithecus anamensis is similar to later species in its teeth and jaws, and a single leg bone suggests it was also bipedal, but it is poorly known in the fossil record. Determining which traits were present in A. anamensis is key for understanding why and how Australopithecus evolved.This international collaborative effort (USA, Kenya, Sweden) renews fieldwork at Kanapoi to recover more A. anamensis fossils, and to test the hypothesis that they appeared in the context of open habitats. Paleontologists will map distribution of microfauna (rodents, frogs, etc.) and larger animals to explore variation in local habitats, a unique opportunity because sites preserving microfauna are rare. Geologists will refine the dating of the deposits, and analyze carbon isotopes trapped within the soils to reconstruct vegetation in the area. Anatomists will analyze microscopic tooth wear and isotopes trapped in the teeth of all fauna to explore their diets, which provides additional evidence about environments. These collaborative research foci will contribute to determining which traits characterized the origin of Australopithecus, and how these relate to environmental context - key for understanding why and how humans evolved. This project creates a new international collaborative team, and is a field project led by a female anthropologist (Ward) and Kenyan paleontologist (Manthi). Kenyan and American students will receive training through their joint participation in the field research; Kenyan students will train under a Kenyan mentor, and female students with a woman scientist. The project's substantial outreach and educational activities will take place in the local Kanapoi area, at the National Museums of Kenya-Lodwar, and at schools in Nairobi, Kenya. This outreach will be broadened further through dissemination of results via the project's website.