Multidisciplinary research investigating the geographic origins of the African apes and humans

这项研究旨在验证一个假设，即非洲猿和人类的祖先曾在欧洲生活过一段时间，并在那里进化出了导致现代猿和人类谱系的关键适应性。 它的4个主要组成部分是发掘，化石分析，同位素地球化学和普查。 我们在匈牙利北方鲁达巴尼亚（R II）的主要地点发现了一个富含脊椎动物化石的骨床，其中包括灵长类动物。 我们有两块鲁达古猿的部分骨骼，六块保存完好的原始卡他鼻古猿的颌骨，以及数百块其他哺乳动物的骨骼，大小从鼩 鼱到大象不等。 这是迄今为止从该遗址中发现的最丰富的化石集中地，大部分存款仍有待挖掘。 我希望在2009-10年发现的更多猿类骨架将通过新的挖掘被发现。 增加中新世晚期类人猿的样本是检验非洲猿和人类起源的竞争性假设的唯一途径。 在1000万年前的欧洲猿身上发现了非洲猿的特征，这表明该谱系经历了欧洲阶段，但数据仅限于头骨和牙齿的某些方面。 化石揭示了更多关于生物体的生物学信息，更有可能帮助研究人员解开非洲猿和人类起源的复杂性。 除了挖掘和分析之外，我们还将对当地的同位素地球化学进行最雄心勃勃，最原始和最全面的分析，这将提供比中新世猿类地区更详细的当地生态条件指标，推断可能导致人科动物进化中重大关键创新的选择压力的必要信息。 最后，随着我们在第1年至第3年完成R II的挖掘工作，我们将对匈牙利的地质前景露头进行调查，同时也将对克罗地亚和罗马尼亚的古Paratethys湖系统的沿着进行调查。 我们小组以前的工作已经确定了许多有希望产生新的化石地点的地区，这些地点将扩大我们对中新世晚期欧洲哺乳动物的地理学知识，并揭示当时生活在欧洲的猿类的真实多样性。

This research is designed to test the hypothesis that the ancestors of African apes and humans lived for a time in Europe, and evolved key adaptations there that led to the modern ape and human lineages. It's 4 main components are excavation, fossil analysis, isotope geochemistry and reconnaissance. We have discovered a bone bed rich in fossil vertebrates, including primates, at the main locality of Rudabánya (R II), in northern Hungary. We have portions of two skeletons of the ape Rudapithecus, six well preserved jaws of the primitive catarrhine Anapithecus, and hundreds of bones of other mammals ranging in size from shrews to elephants. It is by far the richest concentration of fossils ever recovered from the site, and most of the deposit remains to be excavated. I expect that more of the skeleton of the ape found in 2009-10 will be recovered through new excavations. Increasing our sample of late Miocene great apes is the only way to test competing hypotheses of African ape and human origins. African ape-like features present in 10 million year old European apes suggest that the lineage passed through a European phase, but the data are limited to certain aspects of the skull and teeth. Skeletons reveal much more about the biology of an organism and are more likely to help researchers unravel the complexities of African ape and human origins. Beyond excavation and analysis, we will carry out the most ambitious, original and comprehensive analysis of the isotope geochemistry of the locality, which will provide more detailed indicators of local ecological conditions than ever produced for a Miocene ape locality, essential information to deduce selection pressures that may have led to significant key innovations in hominoid evolution. Finally, as we finish with the excavation of R II in years 1 to 3 we will conduct surveys of geologically promising outcrops in Hungary but also along the shores of the ancient Paratethys lake system in Croatia and Romania. Previous work by our group has identified many areas with promise of producing productive new fossil localities that will expand our knowledge of the biogeography of late Miocene European mammals and shed light on the true diversity of apes living in Europe at that time.