Technological Origins: Environmental and Behavioral Context of the Earliest Tool Users

该奖项支持为期三年的古人类学调查，以扩大我们对人类行为和生态的理解。具体来说，研究人员将分析早期人类使用石器工具的证据，这被认为是一种关键的行为适应，导致我们自己的属人的出现。研究人员已经确定了340万至260万年前的地质沉积物，其中有大量保存完好的化石，可能包括生产和使用破碎和捣碎的石器的迹象。这项研究将涉及实地考察和使用新技术来分析石器以及有屠杀证据的骨头。除了提高我们对我们自己物种起源的认识外，该项目还将支持学生培训和社区科学推广。活动将包括与古人类学实地学校协调研究活动，纳入STEM领域代表性不足的群体的研究人员和学生，以及史密森学会的研究生公众对科学实习和外联工作的理解。从这个项目中获得的古生物学数据将成为图尔卡纳古生物学数据库的一部分，该数据库最初由国家科学基金会资助，通过陆地生态系统进化计划和肯尼亚国家博物馆公开提供古生物学数据。人类在利用技术适应不同生态情景的能力方面是独一无二的。然而，我们技术能力的起源以及人类技术行为如何影响我们人类祖先的饮食生态，还没有完全了解。调查人员将在肯尼亚图尔卡纳盆地的Koobi Fora地层进行三个季节的古人类学研究。这项研究将涉及深入的实地考察和对石器、有屠宰证据的骨头以及用于狩猎活动的工具的分析。研究人员已经开发出新的方法，即使在低密度的考古背景下，也可以识别文物（敲击工具）和切割有标记的骨头。该团队还将进行高分辨率的地层划界调查，以收集古生物学，古植物学和地球化学背景数据。这项研究直接影响了我们对人类祖先如何以及何时开始使用工具来增强他们的健康的理解，并将有助于将最早的石器使用者置于上新世东非更广泛的气候背景中。

This award supports a three-year paleoanthropological investigation to expand our understanding of hominin behavior and ecology. Specifically, the investigators will analyze evidence of early hominin stone tool use, which is thought to have been a critical behavioral adaptation leading to the appearance of our own genus, Homo. The investigators have identified geological sediments dating from 3.4-2.6 million years ago that have abundant well-preserved fossils and may include indications of the production and use of chipped and pounded stone tools. The research will involve fieldwork and the use of novel techniques for analyzing stone artifacts as well as bones with evidence of butchery. In addition to advancing our knowledge about the origins of our own species, the project will support student training and community science outreach. Activities will include coordinating research activities with a paleoanthropological field school, inclusion of researchers and students from underrepresented groups in STEM fields, and graduate student Public Understanding of Science internships and outreach efforts at the Smithsonian Institution. The paleontological data derived from this project will become part of the Turkana Paleontology Database, an effort initially funded by NSF that makes paleontological data publicly available through the Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems Program and the National Museums of Kenya.Humans are unique in their ability to use technology to adapt to diverse ecological scenarios. Yet, the origins of our technological prowess and the ways in which human technological behavior impacted dietary ecology in our hominin ancestors are not fully understood. The investigators will conduct three field seasons of paleoanthropological research at the Koobi Fora Formation in the Turkana Basin of Kenya. The research will involve intensive fieldwork and analyses of stone artifacts, bones with evidence of butchery, and tools that have been used for percussive activities. The investigators have developed new methodologies that can identify artifacts (pounding tools) and cut marked bones even in low-density archeological contexts. The team will also carry out high-resolution stratigraphically delimited surveys to collect paleontological, paleobotanical, and geochemical contextual data. This research has direct impacts on our understanding of how and when our hominin ancestors began to use tools to enhance their fitness and will help to place the earliest stone tool users in a broader climatic context of Pliocene eastern Africa.