Reconstructing paleoecology for critical transitions in hominin evolution

Understanding the paleoecology associated with hominin fossils can advance knowledge about the factors that determined the evolution of the human lineage. In this multidisciplinary project, the researchers reconstruct paleoecology for regions where human ancestor fossils have been recovered from sediments between 3.5 and 3.3 million years ago. They conduct high-resolution, regional-level analyses based on the faunal assemblages from three sites that have a combined area of 3000 square kilometers and reconstruct the paleoecological context immediately preceding the origin of the genus Homo.

The project advances undergraduate and graduate training and international research collaborations. Science communication and K-12 science education activities related to the project are designed to increase interest in science and human origins studies and highlight interdisciplinary science and the diversity of people behind the research.

This project tests hypotheses related to the emergence of Homo, the apparent extinction of Australopithecus afarensis, and the paleoecological context of co-existing hominin species. Fieldwork is conducted to refine the stratigraphy and age of relevant sections and conduct high-resolution faunal comparisons between sites. Project faunal experts refine the taxonomy of mammalian fossils, collect and analyze taphonomic and paleoecological data, conduct high-resolution, broad-scale reconstruction of paleoenvironment, and assess ecosystem changes prior to the appearance of Homo and disappearance of A. afarensis.

For each fossil species in the sample, functional traits of body mass, diet and substrate use are estimated. Diet is estimated through enamel isotopic (δ13C and δ18O) signatures, mesowear and hypsodonty indices. Using correspondence analysis to compare faunal assemblages from the successive time bins and across sites with modern communities, the team estimates biotic and abiotic factors that differed among the three sites and explores how these patterns align with the disappearance of A. afarensis and the appearance of Homo.

In addition, species cluster analyses are used to examine biogeographic patterns that emerge, consider taxonomic origins, hypothesize patterns of dispersal, and estimate regional paleoecological patterns.

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.