Vertebrate Taphonomy and Paleoecology of Lake-Margin Wetlands during Oldowan Times at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

在Robert Blumenschine博士的指导下，Jackson Njau先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他的研究目标是了解约170万年前早期人类是如何行为和利用环境的。多年来，由Blumenschine博士联合领导的一个多学科小组在坦桑尼亚的Olduvai Gorge研究了代表大约5万年间隔的单一地层。该矿藏包括早期原始人石器以及原始人和其他动物遗骸。它还提供了丰富的古环境数据，包括保存下来的动物足迹、植物化石遗骸以及地质和地球化学信息。在此基础上，该小组正在努力重建一幅详细而准确的地貌图，然后在上面叠加与原始人有关的遗骸。通过这种方式，人们可以洞察人类早期的行为适应。根据多条证据，该小组知道，该区域的很大一部分由河流和湖泊边缘以及其他类型的湿地组成。然而，它缺乏准确区分这些因素的能力。Njau将进行多管齐下的调查，以提供必要的改进。他将研究从碱性湖岸到泉水沼泽的许多现代模拟环境，并特别注意与每种环境相关的动物群组合的种类。由于河马和鳄鱼都改变了这种景观，并在广泛的物种上先行一步，它们可能会留下重大的印记。Njau将专注于这两个物种，并将进行喂养实验，在实验中，农场饲养的鳄鱼会被提供猎物残骸；它们的印记被记录在废弃的骨头上。Njau先生还将检查之前从Olduvai挖掘出来的动物群组合，以寻找实验模式和观察模式之间的匹配。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将为更好地理解非洲最重要的史前遗址之一的原始人行为提供一个框架。它还将产生与广泛的古生态和考古学问题直接相关的现代模拟数据。该奖项还提供了一位有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Robert Blumenschine, Mr. Jackson Njau will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. The goal of his research is to understand how early humans behaved and utilized the environment ca. 1.7 million years ago. For many years a multidisciplinary team jointly headed by Dr. Blumenschine has examined a single stratum representing a ca. 50,000 year interval at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. The deposit contains early hominid stone tools as well as hominid and other faunal remains. It also offers a wealth of paleo-environmental data in the form of preserved animal tracks, fossil plant remains and geological and geochemical information. On this basis the team is working to reconstruct a detailed and accurate picture of the landscape and then to superimpose hominid-related remains on it. In this way one can gain insight into early human behavioral adaptations. Based on multiple lines of evidence the group knows that a significant portion of the region consisted of river and lake margin as well as other types of wetlands. However it lacks the ability to distinguish accurately among these. Mr. Njau will conduct a multipronged investigation to provide the necessary refinement. He will study a number of modern analog environments which range from alkaline lakeshore to spring fed marshes and in particular note the kinds of faunal assemblages associated with each. Since hippopotomi and crocodiles both modify such landscapes and predate on a wide range of species, they can leave a major mark. Mr. Njau will focus on both species and will conduct feeding experiments in which farm raised crocodile are provided with prey remains;their imprint on discarded bones noted. Mr. Njau will also examine prior excavated faunal assemblages from Olduvai to search for matches between experimental and observed patterns.This research is important for several reasons. It will provide a framework for an improved understanding of hominid behavior at one of the most important prehistoric sites in Africa. It will also yield modern analog data which are directly relevant to a wide range of paleoecological and archaeological questions. The award also provides a promising young scientist.