Collaborative Research: Paleontological and geological contexts of human origins

This project studies 6-million-year-old paleontological sites to retrieve fossil, paleoenvironmental, and geological data relevant for understanding human origins. The age of the fossil sites coincides with the emergence of the human lineage, and the paleontological assemblages provide novel information regarding the ecological contexts and evolutionary histories of related fauna. The project supports field work, analytical analyses, graduate and undergraduate student training opportunities, and public science outreach. Paleontological sites sampling the critical period when human ancestors first evolved (6 million years ago) are exceptionally rare. The investigators conduct intensive (i) paleontological recovery, (ii) paleoenvironmental reconstruction through multiple proxies, and (iii) refinement and expansion of the regional geological framework in a key region for understanding hominin origins. Local paleoclimate, vegetation structure, and herbivore community ecology are investigated using phytolith analyses and stable isotope analyses of paleosol carbonates, leaf waxes, and fossil mammalian tooth enamel. Geologic work includes tephra analysis, stratigraphic measurements, and high-resolution mapping to constrain the age and environmental context and enable local correlations and linkages to other paleontological sites. The multi-proxy approach used in this project provides robust dietary niche and environmental reconstructions to better contextualize the fossil assemblages during the emergence of the human lineage. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.