Integrating multidisciplinary tools to study Plio-Pleistocene paleoecology of early hominins from the Omo Valley, Ethiopia

整合多学科工具来研究埃塞俄比亚奥莫河谷早期人类的上古-更新世古生态学

• 批准号: 1252157
• 负责人: Zeresenay Alemseged
• 金额: $ 17.98万
• 依托单位: California Academy of Sciences
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-04-15 至 2020-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1252157&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Integrating; multidisciplinary; tools; study; Plio

Integrating multidisciplinary tools to study Plio-Pleistocene paleoecology of early hominins from the Omo Valley, EthiopiaZeresenay Alemseged, California Academy of SciencesTechnical description:This study aims to address one of the key research questions for understanding the paleobiology of early hominins: what was the role of ecological change on the development of major early human adaptations? The PIs will address this broad question by developing integrative approaches to bring new data to the paleofaunal databases from the hominin-bearing Omo sequence (paleofauna collected by the The International Omo Research Expedition, IORE, 1966-1976). Existing taxonomic abundance data from these large and systematically collected paleofaunal databases will be integrated with new, independent paleoecological data from stable isotopes and ecomorphological features of the paleofaunal community. The stable isotopic composition of tooth enamel from hominins and other primates from this sequence will also be analyzed for the first time.Broader Significance and Importance:The results of this research will not only address questions of paleodiets and paleoecology of East African faunas, but may significantly transform our understanding of the the evolution of the mammalian community in the Omo-Turkana Basin of Ethiopia and Kenya from 4 to 1.2 million years ago, which is one of the most significant basins for early human evolutionary studies. This study will also provide direct and fresh data on the diets consumed by at least four hominin species encountered in the Omo sequence, and will better our understanding of when and where hominins first began to significantly consume foods derived from savanna resources. The research will continue international collaborations between US academic institutions and the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, which provides a venue for public outreach and education within Ethiopia and beyond. The data from this project will be incorporated into a database system, and made readily available via several outlets. This proposal will provide graduate training for two graduate students integrating several research communities: geology, geochemistry, paleontology, and paleoanthropology. The research results will be used in a variety of outlets for public outreach.

整合多学科工具来研究埃塞俄比亚奥莫河谷早期人类的上更新世古生态学技术描述：这项研究旨在解决理解早期人类古生物学的关键研究问题之一：生态变化对早期人类主要适应性发展的作用是什么？ PI 将通过开发综合方法来解决这个广泛的问题，将来自古人类奥莫序列的新数据引入古动物数据库（由国际奥莫研究探险队收集的古动物，IORE，1966-1976）。来自这些大型且系统收集的古动物数据库的现有分类丰度数据将与来自稳定同位素和古动物群落生态形态特征的新的独立古生态数据相整合。该序列中的古人类和其他灵长类动物牙釉质的稳定同位素组成也将首次得到分析。 更广泛的意义和重要性：这项研究的结果不仅将解决东非动物群的古饮食和古生态学问题，而且可能会显着改变我们对埃塞俄比亚和肯尼亚奥莫-图尔卡纳盆地哺乳动物群落从 4 百万年到 120 万年演化的理解。 几年前，这是早期人类进化研究最重要的盆地之一。这项研究还将提供有关奥莫序列中至少四种古人类物种消耗的饮食的直接和最新数据，并将更好地了解古人类首次开始大量消耗来自稀树草原资源的食物的时间和地点。该研究将继续美国学术机构与位于亚的斯亚贝巴的埃塞俄比亚国家博物馆之间的国际合作，该博物馆为埃塞俄比亚境内外的公众宣传和教育提供了场所。该项目的数据将被纳入数据库系统，并可通过多个渠道轻松获取。该提案将为两名研究生提供研究生培训，整合多个研究领域：地质学、地球化学、古生物学和古人类学。研究结果将用于各种公共宣传渠道。