IPG: Collaborative Research: Research on East African Catarrhine and Hominoid Evolution

IPG：合作研究：东非卡他林和类人猿进化研究

• 批准号: 1241807
• 负责人: Kieran McNulty
• 金额: $ 28.15万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-15 至 2020-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1241807&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IPG; Collaborative; Research; East; African

New evidence from early fossil humans suggests that, in some respects, these hominins more closely resembled the earliest fossil apes than any modern ape. While such findings substantially impact our understanding of early hominin adaptive morphology, their precise implications remain unclear because the original ecological conditions in which these features evolved is poorly documented. To address this problem, this project will answer the following three research questions: What are the regional patterns of environmental change and the site-specific habitats associated with the earliest fossil apes? How does the morphology of early apes relate to the environmental contexts in which they lived? How do early ape adaptations inform our understanding of later ape and human evolution? These questions will be answered by establishing a multi-disciplinary, multi-national collaboration to initiate new paleontological field research at all of the early fossil ape localities in East Africa. For the first time, new fossil and data collection will be coordinated across nearly a dozen Kenyan sites near Kisingiri, Tinderet, West Turkana, and Buluk, and a similar number of Ugandan sites at Napak, Moroto, and Bukwa. In addition to surveys and excavation, a series of geological, ecological, and taphonomic analyses will be used to understand the age, environment, and setting of each locality. New fossils will be subjected to rigorous morphological analyses to determine their evolutionary and adaptive significance. Unlike previous studies, which have focused on individual localities, this regional approach to understanding ancient ecosystems will track environmental variations over the time and space of early ape evolution, making it possible to relate specific habitat types with primate adaptive morphology.The origin and early diversification of the ape-human lineage represents a fundamental shift in primate body plans, and is therefore an integral resource for interpreting the later evolution of apes and humans. For decades, most researchers have studied human origins through the lens of modern ape and human characteristics, marginalizing a large and diverse body of evidence from their ancient ape predecessors. This project represents an important and substantive step toward fully integrating our knowledge of living and fossil apes and humans. Moreover, coordinating a project of this breadth - using the same methods and protocols across all of the relevant fossil sites - will allow data to be synthesized on a scale not previously possible, setting new benchmarks for conducting future field projects. This project will thus model a collaborative approach that will be more productive and beneficial to the discipline of paleoanthropology.This project also generates substantial broader impacts. A critical component of the grant is the training of US and East Africa graduate and US undergraduate students in the discipline of paleoanthropology. The project also includes the National Museums of Kenya as a full collaborative scientific partner in the proposed research. A well-established partnership between University of Michigan, Makerere University and the National Museum (Uganda) will be fostered by this grant, helping to train staff and students in Uganda on field and analytical techniques. Finally, a digital database cataloging all the fossils and data collected from all of the localities will be made freely available after the conclusion of the project.

来自早期人类化石的新证据表明，在某些方面，这些原始人比任何现代猿类更接近于最早的化石类人猿。虽然这些发现极大地影响了我们对早期原始人适应形态的理解，但它们的确切含义仍不清楚，因为这些特征进化的原始生态条件缺乏文献记载。为了解决这个问题，这个项目将回答以下三个研究问题：环境变化的区域模式和与最早的类人猿化石相关的特定地点栖息地？早期类人猿的形态与他们生活的环境背景有什么关系？早期类人猿的适应如何帮助我们理解后来的类人猿和人类进化？这些问题的答案将是建立一个多学科、多国家的合作，在东非所有早期化石类人猿地区启动新的古生物实地研究。新的化石和数据收集将首次在基辛吉里、廷德雷特、西图尔卡纳和布卢克附近的十几个肯尼亚遗址以及纳帕克、莫罗托和布克瓦的类似数量的乌干达遗址上进行协调。除了调查和挖掘，还将使用一系列的地质、生态和挖掘学分析来了解每个地方的时代、环境和背景。新化石将接受严格的形态分析，以确定它们的进化和适应意义。与以前专注于个别地区的研究不同，这种了解古代生态系统的地区性方法将跟踪早期猿类进化时间和空间上的环境变化，从而有可能将特定的栖息地类型与灵长类动物的适应性形态联系起来。猿-人谱系的起源和早期多样性代表着灵长类身体计划的根本转变，因此是解释类人猿和人类后期进化的不可或缺的资源。几十年来，大多数研究人员通过现代类人猿和人类特征的视角来研究人类起源，将大量不同的证据排除在远古类人猿的前身之外。这个项目代表着朝着完全整合我们对活的和化石的类人猿和人类的知识迈出了重要和实质性的一步。此外，协调这种广度的项目--在所有相关化石遗址使用相同的方法和协议--将允许以以前不可能的规模合成数据，为未来开展实地项目设定新的基准。因此，该项目将成为一种合作方法的典范，它将更加富有成效，并有利于古人类学学科。该项目还将产生更广泛的影响。该助学金的一个重要组成部分是对美国和东非的研究生和美国本科生进行古人类学学科的培训。该项目还包括肯尼亚国家博物馆作为拟议研究的全面合作科学伙伴。这笔赠款将促进密歇根大学、Makerere大学和国家博物馆(乌干达)之间业已建立的伙伴关系，帮助培训乌干达的工作人员和学生有关实地和分析技术的知识。最后，一个数字数据库将在项目结束后免费提供，其中包括从所有地方收集的所有化石和数据的编目。