Paleoanthropological Exploration in the Manonga Valley of Northern Tanzania

该项目的目的是启动一项计划， 马农加河谷的古生物学和地质勘探 坦桑尼亚北方的一个地区，以确定 该地区的化石遗址，用于研究人类进化。 一 1990年首席调查员的初步勘察 证明了马农加山谷 这是一个以前完全没有探索过的领域， 未来的古人类学研究的潜力。 古 湖盆，面积广，出露良好，化石丰富， 沉积物现在可以被认为是最重要的 非洲东部的古生物学研究领域。 只有少数孤立的、不完整的早期人类化石遗迹 人类祖先在400万年前来自非洲。 马农加山谷遗址的估计年龄（300万至600万 岁），结合他们的古生物学 生产力，以及它们在地理上与其他 发现了与人类有关的化石的重要地点 演化，使该地区的研究意义明显 人类的起源。 该项目的主要目标是：（1） 在主要的化石上进行古生物学收集， （2）继续前景寻找新的地点; 进一步评估化石的地质背景和年龄 （3）获取有助于重建 古湖盆的古环境背景

The aim of this project is to initiate a program of paleontological and geological exploration in the Manonga Valley of northern Tanzania in order to ascertain the potential of the fossil sites in the area for the study of human evolution. A preliminary reconnaissance by the principal investigator in 1990 demonstrated that the Manonga Valley which has been almost completely unexplored previously, is an area of tremendous potential for future paleoanthropological research. The ancient lake basin, with its extensive, well-exposed and fossil-rich sediments can now be considered one of the most significant paleontological research areas in eastern Africa. Only a few isolated and fragmentary fossil remains of early human ancestors are known from Africa prior to 4 million years ago. The estimated age of the sites in the Manonga Valley (3-6 million years old), in conjunction with their paleontological productivity, and their close geographical proximity to other important sites that have yielded fossils pertinent to human evolution, makes the region of evident significance for the study of human origins. The major objectives of the project are: (1) to make paleontological collections at the principal fossil localities and to continue to prospect for new sites; (2) to further assess the geological context and the age of the fossil sites; and (3) to obtain data that will help to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental setting of the ancient lake basin.