Dissertation Research: Antelopes and Grasslands: Reconstructing African Hominid Environments

长期以来，人们一直假设我们的原始人类祖先在离开森林后对非洲的热带稀树草原进行了关键的适应，但这种热带稀树草原栖息地类型在人类进化过程中的存在从未得到明确的证实。本论文的研究项目将通过确定同时期食草动物的摄食适应性来推断早期人类栖息地的植被结构。分析的初始阶段将包括确定一方面颅部和轴部形态变化与另一方面现存非洲羚羊的特定摄食行为之间的对应关系。这些信息将有助于确定各种化石牛科动物的饮食偏好，进而对有关热带稀树草原起源和传播的假设进行评估。这项研究为年轻的专业人员提供了良好的毕业培训。

It has long been postulated that our hominid ancestors underwent critical adaptations to the savanna grasslands of Africa after leaving the forests, yet the presence of this savanna habitat type throughout hominid evolution has never been clearly established. This dissertation research project will infer the vegetational structure of early hominid habitats by determining the feeding adaptations of contemporaneous herbivores. The initial stage of analysis will involve the determination of correspondences between cranial and axial morphological variation on the one hand and specific feeding behaviors among living African antelopes on the other. This information will then allow for the determination of various fossil bovid dietary preferences, and in turn, the evaluation of hypotheses concerning the origin and spread of savanna grasslands. The study provides for excellent graduate training for a young professional.