HRRBAA: Paleoanthropological Investigations of Early Pleistocene Hominin Dispersals

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Fossil evidence for hominins in Western Europe currently dates to as early as ~1.4 million years ago (Ma). The same time period in Eastern Europe remains understudied, even though it is likely to have been a route of hominin dispersal into the rest of Europe. This high-risk research project will undertake a paleontological and geological survey of the Olteþ River Valley, Romania, which is the location of the richest fossil site of mammalian fauna in Eastern Europe from this time period. The investigators will look for evidence of hominin occupation at a few known sites, search for additional sites, and collect data to understand the paleoenvironment of the region and confirm dates for the sites. As an area that served as a likely migration route, new discoveries would shed valuable information on the peopling of Western Europe. This project will encourage gender and ethnic diversity in science by providing research opportunities for undergraduate students at three universities that primarily educate first-generation college and minority students. It will also support early career female scientists, international collaborations among US and Romanian scientists, and community science outreach. Evidence suggests that fossil hominins successfully dispersed from Africa to Georgia and Indonesia by 1.85 Ma, but the earliest evidence in Europe is not until ~1.4 Ma. There are two possible explanations for this apparent late dispersal: 1) some barrier prohibited hominin dispersal into Europe, or 2) hominins were present there earlier than 1.4 Ma but paleontological investigations have not yet uncovered their presence. While sites from this time period in Western Europe have been intensively investigated, paleontological localities in Eastern Europe have not been as thoroughly explored. The Olteþ River Valley of Romania has yielded a series of fossil sites that may shed light on dispersal patterns into Europe during the early Pleistocene, and preliminary work suggests that this region has the potential to yield additional sites. This high-risk research project will undertake a paleontological and geological survey of the Olteþ River Valley to look for evidence of hominin occupation during the early Pleistocene, and conduct preliminary investigations of the area's paleoenvironment. By locating and analyzing data from fossil sites from the early Pleistocene of Romania, we can determine whether the fauna from these sites were similar to those found at other early Pleistocene hominin sites across Eurasia, or whether there were differences among these sites that were important for preventing hominin dispersals into Europe at this time. Critically, examination of fossils from these localities and identification of any potential stone tools and/or cut marked bones has the potential to establish the presence of hominins in this region during the early Pleistocene. If so, this would represent the earliest evidence of hominins in Europe west of Georgia.