IPG: Collaborative Research: Research on East African Catarrhine and Hominoid Evolution

来自早期人类化石的新证据表明，在某些方面，这些古人类比任何现代猿类都更像最早的猿类化石。虽然这些发现极大地影响了我们对早期古人类适应性形态的理解，但它们的确切含义仍然不清楚，因为这些特征进化的原始生态条件记录很少。为了解决这个问题，本项目将回答以下三个研究问题：与最早的猿类化石相关的环境变化的区域模式和特定地点的栖息地是什么？早期猿类的形态与他们生活的环境背景有什么关系？早期猿类的适应如何影响我们对后来猿类和人类进化的理解？这些问题将通过建立一个多学科、多国家的合作来回答，在东非所有早期猿类化石地点开展新的古生物学实地研究。新的化石和数据收集将首次在肯尼亚靠近Kisingiri、Tinderet、West Turkana和Buluk的近12个地点，以及位于Napak、Moroto和Bukwa的类似数量的乌干达地点进行协调。除了调查和挖掘之外，还将进行一系列地质、生态和地貌学分析，以了解每个地点的年龄、环境和背景。新的化石将受到严格的形态学分析，以确定它们的进化和适应意义。与以往的研究不同，这种研究古代生态系统的区域方法将追踪早期猿类进化的时间和空间环境变化，使特定的栖息地类型与灵长类动物的适应形态联系起来成为可能。猿类-人类谱系的起源和早期多样化代表了灵长类动物身体结构的根本转变，因此是解释猿类和人类后来进化的重要资源。几十年来，大多数研究人员都是从现代猿类和人类特征的角度来研究人类起源的，而忽略了来自古代猿类祖先的大量多样的证据。这个项目代表着我们朝着全面整合人类和现存猿类及化石知识的方向迈出了重要而实质性的一步。此外，协调一个如此广泛的项目- -在所有有关的化石地点使用相同的方法和协议- -将使数据能够以以前不可能的规模合成，为今后的实地项目设立新的基准。因此，这个项目将成为一种合作方式的典范，这种合作方式将对古人类学学科更有成效和有益。该项目还会产生更广泛的影响。该基金的一个重要组成部分是培训美国和东非的古人类学研究生和美国本科生。该项目还包括肯尼亚国家博物馆作为拟议研究的全面合作科学伙伴。这笔赠款将促进密歇根大学、马凯雷雷大学和国家博物馆（乌干达）之间建立良好的伙伴关系，帮助培训乌干达的工作人员和学生掌握实地和分析技术。最后，在项目结束后，将免费提供包含所有地点收集的所有化石和数据的数字数据库。

New evidence from early fossil humans suggests that, in some respects, these hominins more closely resembled the earliest fossil apes than any modern ape. While such findings substantially impact our understanding of early hominin adaptive morphology, their precise implications remain unclear because the original ecological conditions in which these features evolved is poorly documented. To address this problem, this project will answer the following three research questions: What are the regional patterns of environmental change and the site-specific habitats associated with the earliest fossil apes? How does the morphology of early apes relate to the environmental contexts in which they lived? How do early ape adaptations inform our understanding of later ape and human evolution? These questions will be answered by establishing a multi-disciplinary, multi-national collaboration to initiate new paleontological field research at all of the early fossil ape localities in East Africa. For the first time, new fossil and data collection will be coordinated across nearly a dozen Kenyan sites near Kisingiri, Tinderet, West Turkana, and Buluk, and a similar number of Ugandan sites at Napak, Moroto, and Bukwa. In addition to surveys and excavation, a series of geological, ecological, and taphonomic analyses will be used to understand the age, environment, and setting of each locality. New fossils will be subjected to rigorous morphological analyses to determine their evolutionary and adaptive significance. Unlike previous studies, which have focused on individual localities, this regional approach to understanding ancient ecosystems will track environmental variations over the time and space of early ape evolution, making it possible to relate specific habitat types with primate adaptive morphology.The origin and early diversification of the ape-human lineage represents a fundamental shift in primate body plans, and is therefore an integral resource for interpreting the later evolution of apes and humans. For decades, most researchers have studied human origins through the lens of modern ape and human characteristics, marginalizing a large and diverse body of evidence from their ancient ape predecessors. This project represents an important and substantive step toward fully integrating our knowledge of living and fossil apes and humans. Moreover, coordinating a project of this breadth - using the same methods and protocols across all of the relevant fossil sites - will allow data to be synthesized on a scale not previously possible, setting new benchmarks for conducting future field projects. This project will thus model a collaborative approach that will be more productive and beneficial to the discipline of paleoanthropology.This project also generates substantial broader impacts. A critical component of the grant is the training of US and East Africa graduate and US undergraduate students in the discipline of paleoanthropology. The project also includes the National Museums of Kenya as a full collaborative scientific partner in the proposed research. A well-established partnership between University of Michigan, Makerere University and the National Museum (Uganda) will be fostered by this grant, helping to train staff and students in Uganda on field and analytical techniques. Finally, a digital database cataloging all the fossils and data collected from all of the localities will be made freely available after the conclusion of the project.