HRRBAA: Development of New Early Miocene Sites in Northern Uganda

这项研究的目标是在乌干达东部寻找新的化石地点，以了解与类人猿起源相关的进化过程，类人猿是包括猿和人类在内的灵长类动物。该地区已知的少数化石遗址已经产生了古老的动物和植物群落，其中包括已知最古老的猿类化石。其中一种名为“Morotopithecus”的猿类显示了使用直立躯干的证据，这是人类最早的两足行走的先驱。与人类起源有关的化石数据很罕见，猿类这种进化专门化的证据为我们在非洲的进化提供了重要的见解。乌干达东部是世界上已发现证据的少数几个已知地区之一，进一步的发现至关重要。 虽然已知化石地点的一般位置是在50多年前确定的，但还没有系统地尝试探索这一地区的化石地点。这是由于该地区地处偏远，地形崎岖，需要勘察的地区面积很大（超过500平方公里），除了两个月的旱季之外，植被茂密，地质图有限，以及武装袭击牲畜造成的政治不稳定。最近开展的全国解除武装运动改善了安全状况，并建立了新的定居点和通道。将利用新获得的高分辨率卫星图像，首次（在关键的旱季）对含化石沉积物进行广泛调查，可能会发现新的地点和新的化石。该项目的更广泛影响包括促进女性古生物学家的职业生涯，她们在实地项目中的代表性不足，以及促进非洲学者以合作者和学生的形式的职业生涯。研究人员将通过及时出版、教学、培训博物馆工作人员和公开讲座广泛传播他们的科学。

The goal of this research is to search for new fossil localities in eastern Uganda to understand the evolutionary processes associated with the origin of hominoids, the group of primates that includes apes and humans. The few known fossil sites in this area have yielded ancient animal and plant communities that include fossils of the oldest known apes. One of these apes,"Morotopithecus," shows evidence of using an upright trunk, the earliest known precursor of bipedalism in humans. Fossil data relevant to human origins is rare and evidence of such evolutionary specializations in apes provides critical insights into our evolution in Africa. Eastern Uganda represents one of the few known areas in the world where evidence has been found and further discoveries are essential. Although the general locations of known fossil sites were established over 50 years ago, there have been no systematic attempts to explore this area for fossil localities. This has been due to the remote nature of this region, rugged terrain, large areas to reconnoiter (over 500 km2), heavy vegetation during all but the two-month dry season, limited geologic maps, and political instability related to armed livestock raiding. A recent national disarmament campaign has led to improved safety as well as the establishment of new settlements and access roads. Using newly available high-resolution satellite imagery, an extensive survey will be conducted (during the critical dry season) for fossiliferous sediments for the first time, possibly resulting in new sites and new fossils. The broader impacts of this project include fostering of the career of women paleontologists, who are under-represented in field projects, as well as fostering the careers of African scholars in the form of collaborators and students. Researchers will disseminate their science widely through timely publication, teaching, the training of museum staff and public lectures.