REU Site: Investigating the Behaviors of Middle Stone Age Humans in the Horn of Africa

该项目是根据本科生（REU）网站计划，这是一个NSF范围内的计划，虽然每个董事会管理自己的REU网站竞争的研究经验的支持。该计划支持本科生积极参与研究，努力向他们介绍科学研究，以鼓励他们继续参与国家的科学研究和发展事业。REU项目以有意义的方式让学生参与正在进行的研究项目或专门为此目的设计的研究项目。REU计划是NSF发展多元化，具有国际竞争力和全球参与的科学和工程劳动力的目标的主要贡献者。社会，行为和经济（SBE）科学理事会将该REU网站授予德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校，旨在培养学生对非洲之角中石器时代（MSA）人类的行为和生态进行多学科调查。学生设计原创的研究项目，整合现场，实验室和博物馆的研究。他们在国家科学会议上介绍他们的项目，并准备在同行评审的期刊上发表他们的成果，帮助他们发展成为独立的科学家。这个REU网站为参与者提供了一个无与伦比的教育机会，沿着独特的文化体验，使今天的学生成为明天的领先研究人员和教师。现代人类起源和进化的研究是一个多学科的奋进，紧密结合了考古学，生物人类学，地球化学，地质年代学，地质学和古生物学领域的数据。这项研究建议在埃塞俄比亚西北部建立一个REU站点，以便让本科生调查40，000 - 90，000年前现代人类离开非洲前往世界其他地区的时间。该地区包含许多MSA考古遗址，这些遗址保存了这些古代人类制造和使用的石器，他们猎杀的动物的遗骸以及过去气候的记录。这些远古人类的觅食行为促进了我们人类走出非洲的迁移。学生从两年制和四年制大学的混合招募，并参加基于网络的研讨会和会议，在他们开始实地，博物馆和实验室研究之前提供多学科培训。24名学生是从科学领域代表性不足的群体中选出的。他们在几个学科，这反过来又将加强学生和参与实验室之间的伙伴关系，他们将学习如何设计强调数据收集和分析的研究项目。该项目由NSF国际科学与工程（伊势）计划共同资助。

This project is supported under the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program, which is an NSF-wide program although each Directorate administers its own REU Site competition. This program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in an effort to introduce them to scientific research so as to encourage their continued engagement in the nation's scientific research and development enterprise. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects designed especially for the purpose. The REU program is a major contributor to the NSF's goal of developing a diverse, internationally competitive, and globally-engaged science and engineering workforce. The Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) sciences Directorate awarded this REU Site grant to the University of Texas at Austin which aims to train students in the multi-disciplinary investigation of behaviors and ecology of Middle Stone Age (MSA) humans in the Horn of Africa. Students design original research projects that integrate field, laboratory, and museum studies. They present their projects at national scientific meetings and prepare their results for publication in peer-reviewed journals, helping them to develop into independent scientists. This REU site offers participants an unparalleled educational opportunity along with a unique cultural experience that will enable today's students to become tomorrow's leading researchers and teachers. The results of this study will aid our understanding of the early history of ancient modern humans.The study of modern human origins and evolution is a multidisciplinary endeavor that closely integrates data from the fields of archaeology, biological anthropology, geochemistry, geochronology, geology, and paleontology. This study proposed to establish an REU Site in NW Ethiopia in order to engage undergraduate students in investigating the time period from 40,000-90,000 years ago when modern humans left Africa to populate the rest of the world. The region contains numerous MSA archaeological sites from this time interval that preserve the stone tools made and used by these ancient humans, the remains of the animals that they hunted, and a record of past climates. The foraging behaviors practiced by these ancient humans facilitated our species' migration out of Africa. Students are recruited from a mix of two- and four-year colleges and participate in web-based seminars and conferences that provides multi-disciplinary training before they begin their field, museum, and laboratory studies. Twenty-four students are selected from groups underrepresented in the sciences. They are trained in several disciplines which in turn will enhance partnerships among the students and the participating labs and they will learn how to design research projects that emphasize data collection and analysis. This project is co-funded by the NSF International Science and Engineering (ISE) program.