REU Site: Investigating the Behaviors of Middle Stone Age Humans in the Horn of Africa

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

This project is supported under the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program, which is an NSF-wide program although each Directorate administers its own REU Site competition. This program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in an effort to introduce them to scientific research so as to encourage their continued engagement in the nation's scientific research and development enterprise. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects designed especially for the purpose. The REU program is a major contributor to the NSF's goal of developing a diverse, internationally competitive, and globally-engaged science and engineering workforce. The Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) sciences Directorate awarded this REU Site grant to the University of Texas at Austin which aims to train students in the multi-disciplinary investigation of behaviors and ecology of Middle Stone Age (MSA) humans in the Horn of Africa. Students design original research projects that integrate field, laboratory, and museum studies. They present their projects at national scientific meetings and prepare their results for publication in peer-reviewed journals, helping them to develop into independent scientists. This REU site offers participants an unparalleled educational opportunity along with a unique cultural experience that will enable today's students to become tomorrow's leading researchers and teachers. The results of this study will aid our understanding of the early history of ancient modern humans. The study of modern human origins and evolution is a multidisciplinary endeavor that closely integrates data from the fields of archaeology, biological anthropology, geochemistry, geochronology, geology, and paleontology. This study proposed to establish an REU Site in NW Ethiopia in order to engage undergraduate students in investigating the time period from 40,000-90,000 years ago when modern humans left Africa to populate the rest of the world. The region contains numerous MSA archaeological sites from this time interval that preserve the stone tools made and used by these ancient humans, the remains of the animals that they hunted, and a record of past climates. The foraging behaviors practiced by these ancient humans facilitated our species' migration out of Africa. Students are recruited from a mix of two- and four-year colleges and participate in web-based seminars and conferences that provides multi-disciplinary training before they begin their field, museum, and laboratory studies. Twenty-four students are selected from groups underrepresented in the sciences. They are trained in several disciplines which in turn will enhance partnerships among the students and the participating labs and they will learn how to design research projects that emphasize data collection and analysis. This project is co-funded by the NSF International Science and Engineering (ISE) program.