RAPID: Rescue excavation of fossils of late Middle Pleistocene Homo from the Kapthurin Formation, Kenya

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

The origin of our species, Homo sapiens, is one of the most contentious and poorly understood topics in the study of human evolution. While both fossil and genomic evidence supports an African origin for Homo sapiens, fossil evidence from the appropriate time range is scanty. Fossils of genus Homo were encountered in Middle Pleistocene sediments in the Kapthurin Formation, Kenya, but operations were suspended due to the start of the rainy season, which renders work impossible. NSF funds will support a rescue operation to recover more fossils, to determine their precise stratigraphic position, and to prevent destruction of the site. The nature of the events leading to the origin of our species is of one of the critical unresolved issues in the study of human evolution today. These events are of intense interest both to scientists and to the general public. They cannot be understood without new African fossils such as those provided by this research. This research will provide training opportunities for one postdoctorate student and two graduate students from the University of Connecticut, as well as ten Kenyan technicians and local participants. Results will be shared with the local community including children at two local primary schools. Results will be disseminated in both scholarly and popular media.