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Ledi-Geraru Research Project

in
Theme: 
Human Origins, Evolution and Diversity

2004 field group

Publications: 

Dupont-Nivet, G., Sier, M., Campisano, C.J., Arrowsmith, J.R., DiMaggio, E.N., Reed, K.E., Lockwood, C.A., Franke, C. & Hüsing, S. (in press) Magnetostratigraphy of the eastern Hadar Basin (Ledi-Geraru research area, Ethiopia) and implications for hominin paleoenvironments. The Geological Context of Human Evolution in the Horn of Africa (J. Quade and J. Wynn, Eds.). A Geological Society of America Special Paper.

DiMaggio, E.N., Campisano, C.J., Arrowsmith, J.R., Reed, K.E., Swisher III, C.C. & Lockwood, C.A. (in press). Correlation and stratigraphy of the BKT-2 volcanic complex in west-central Afar, Ethiopia. The Geological Context of Human Evolution in the Horn of Africa (J. Quade and J. Wynn, Eds.). A Geological Society of America Special Paper.

Roman, D., Campisano, C.J., Quade, J., DiMaggio, E.N., Arrowsmith, J.R. & Feibel, C.S. (in press). Composite Tephrostratigraphy of the Dikika, Gona, Hadar, and Ledi-Geraru project areas, northern Awash, Ethiopia. The Geological Context of Human Evolution in the Horn of Africa (J. Quade and J. Wynn, Eds.). A Geological Society of America Special Paper.

Team Members: 
  • Kaye Reed, co-director (paleontology)
  • Ramon Arrowsmith, co-director (geology)
  • Christopher Campisano (paleoanthropology and geology)
  • Lars Werdelin (paleontology)
  • Guillaume Dupont-Nivet (geology)
  • Erin DiMaggio, graduate student (geology)
Funding Sources: 
  • Wenner Gren
  • Leaky Foundation

Geoinformatics-based Data Integration for Study of the Pliocene Fossil-bearing Strata of the Hadar Basin (Afar, Ethiopia)

in
Theme: 
Human Origins, Evolution and Diversity

Description:

Publications: 

Forthcoming

Team Members: 
  • Christopher Campisano (Institute of Human Origins/School of Human Evolution and Social Change), Co-PI
  • Ramon Arrowsmith (School of Earth and Space Exploration), Co-PI
  • William Kimbel (Institute of Human Origins/School of Human Evolution and Social Change), Co-PI
  • Kaye Reed (Institute of Human Origins/School of Human Evolution and Social Change), Co-PI
  • Erin Dimaggio (School of Earth and Space Exploration), Research Assistant
  • Ben Schoville (School of Human Evolution and Social Change), Research Assistant
  • Sarah Robinson (School of Human Evolution and Social Change), GIS Assistant
Funding Sources: 
  • Institute of Human Origins
Partnerships: 
  • Institute of Human Origins
  • University of Texas at Austin
  • Ethiopian Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage

Explaining a Confluence of Diversity & Complexity: Fynbos, Marine Ecosystems & Human Origins

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Theme: 
Human Origins, Evolution and Diversity

Full Title—Explaining a Confluence of Diversity and Complexity: Paleoanthropological and Paleogenetic Investigations of Fynbos, Marine Ecosystems and Human Origins 

Publications: 

Rector, A. L. & Verrelli, B. C. (2010). Glacial cycling, large mammal community composition, and trophic adaptations in the Western Cape, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 58, 90–102.

Team Members: 
  • Kaye Reed (Institute of Human Origins/School of Human Evolution and Social Change), Co-PI
  • Brian Verrelli (Biodesign Institute/School of Life Sciences), Co-PI
  • Curtis Marean (Institute of Human Origins/School of Human Evolution and Social Change), Co-PI
  • Richard Cowling (University of Port Elizabeth)
  • Deano Stynder (Iziko—The South African Museum)
  • David Braun (University of Cape Town)
  • Amy Rector (Institute of Human Origins/School of Human Evolution and Social Change/Iziko), Research Assistant
  • Hope Williams (Institute of Human Origins/School of Human Evolution and Social Change), Research Assistant
  • Erica Tassone (School of Life Sciences), Research Assistant

South African Coast Paleoclimate, Paleoenvironment, Paleoecology, Paleoanthropology Project (SACP4)

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Theme: 
Human Origins, Evolution and Diversity

Description:

Team Members: 
  • Curtis Marean, Principal Investigator
  • Jessica Thompson 
  • Erin Thompson 
  • Jocelyn Bernatchez 
  • Hope Williams 

    •  

    Funding Sources: 

    National Science Foundation
    Hyde Family Foundation

     

    Primate Diversity

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    Theme: 
    Human Origins, Evolution and Diversity

    Description Bushbaby, baboon, long-tailed lemur
    My research focuses on species at very different ends of the spectrum of primate diversity: small, nocturnal prosimians (mainly galagos and Lepilemur) and our closest living relatives, chimpanzees (the latter in collaboration with the Primate Foundation of Arizona (PFA). My research focuses on topical issues that need to be investigated in such divergent primates.

    Team Members: 
    • Leanne T. Nash
    Funding Sources: 

    Previous fieldwork: Wenner-Gren Foundation, National Geographic Society
    ASU Anthropology Galago Colony (now closed): ASU

    Partnerships: 

    Primate Foundation of Arizona (PFA)

    Paleoclimatic and Paleoenvironmental Context of the Origins of Modern Humans in South Africa

    in
    Theme: 
    Human Origins, Evolution and Diversity

    Description

    Team Members: 
    • Dr. Curtis W. Marean, Principal Investigator, SHESC

    • Dr. Miryam Bar-Matthews, Geological Survey of Israel
    • Dr. Stephanie de Villiers, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
    • Dr. Geoffrey Duller, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
    • Dr. Brooks Ellwood, Louisiana State University
    • Dr. Paul Goldberg, Boston University
    • Dr. Andrew Herries, University of New South Wales
    • Dr. Werner Illenberger, Illenberger & Associates, South Africa
    • Dr. Zenobia Jacobs, Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating Facility, CSIR
    • Dr. Antonieta Jerardino, Western Cape Heritage
    • Dr. Panagiotis Karkanas, Ministry of Culture Ephoreia of Palaeoanthropology-Speleology
    • Dr. Julia Lee-Thorp, University of Cape Town
    • Dr. Thalassa Matthews, Iziko South African Museum
    • Dr. Peter Nilssen, co-director of field operations, Iziko South African Museum, Dias Museum.
    • Dr. Dave Roberts, Council for Geoscience, South Africa
    • Dr. Judith Sealy, University of Cape Town
    • Dr. Ann Wintle, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
    • Dr. Stephan Woodborne, director of QUADRU, CSIR, South Africa
    Funding Sources: 

    National Science Foundation - $2.5 million pending

    Partnerships: 

    Iziko South African Museum, South Africa
    Dias Museum, South Africa
    Geological Survey of Israel
    University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
    University of Wales, Aberystwyth
    Louisiana State University
    Boston University
    University of New South Wales
    Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating Facility, CSIR, South Africa
    Ministry of Culture Ephoreia of Palaeoanthropology-Speleology, Greece
    University of Cape Town

    Mossel Bay Archaeology Project

    in
    Theme: 
    Human Origins, Evolution and Diversity

    Description

    Publications: 

    C. W. Marean, P. J. Nilssen, K. Brown, A. Jerardino, and D. Stynder. (2004)

    "Paleoanthropological investigations of Middle Stone Age sites at Pinnacle Point,
    Mossel Bay (South Africa): Archaeology and hominid remains from the 2000 Field
    Season" Journal of Paleoanthropology 2: 14-83.

    C. Henshilwood and C.W. Marean (2003)

    "The origin of modern human behavior: A review and critique of the models and their
    test implications." Current Anthropology 44:627-651.

    P.J. Nilssen and C.W.Marean (2002)

    "Background and results from test excavations of Middle Stone Age sites at Pinnacle
    Point, Mossel Bay". Quaternary Research Centre Newsletter 10: 1-2.

    Presentations and Events

    Invited Speaker C. W. Marean (2003)

    "Pinnacle Point at Mossel Bay, South Africa: Recent Field Investigations at a New
    Hominid and Middle Stone Age Locality." University of Cape Town Archaeology
    Lecture Series, 11 November.

    C. W. Marean, P. Nilssen, A. Jerardino and D. Stynder (2002)

    "Pinnacle Point at Mossel Bay, South Africa: Recent Field Investigations at a New
    Hominid and Middle Stone Age Locality." 16th Biennial Conference of Africanist
    Archaeologists, University of Arizona, May 18-24, 2002.

    C. W. Marean, P. Nilssen, A. Jerardino and D. Stynder (2002)

    "Pinnacle Point at Mossel Bay, South Africa: Recent Field Investigations at a New
    Hominid and Middle Stone Age Locality." Annual Meeting of the Paleoanthropology
    Society, Denver, March 27-28. 

    Team Members: 
    • Curtis Marean, Principal Investigator, SHESC
    • Peter Nilssen, Principal Investigator, Iziko South African Museum
    • Erin Lassiter
    • Jocelyn Bernatchez
    • Lydia Pyne
    • Jessica Thompson
    Funding Sources: 

    National Science Foundation - $242,000 current
    Hyse Family Trust - $50,000
    Iziko South African Museum
    University of Cape Town
    Dias Museum of Mossel Bay

    Partnerships: 

    Mossel Bay Archaeology Project

    in
    Theme: 
    Biological, Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health

    The Mossel Bay Archaeology Project (MAP), led by Curtis W. Marean (ASU) and
    Peter Nilssen (Iziko South African Museums), is a long-term field study of the Middle Stone
    Age (MSA) in the Mossel Bay region. The MSA in South Africa has gained increasing attention
    due to the discovery of bone tools at Blombos Cave, the abundance of ochre suggesting
    artistic expression, the presence of a variety of lithic assemblages with advanced
    technological characteristics, and debates over the interpretation of the fauna.

    Publications: 

    C. W. Marean, P. J. Nilssen, K. Brown, A. Jerardino, and D. Stynder. (2004)

    "Paleoanthropological investigations of Middle Stone Age sites at Pinnacle Point,
    Mossel Bay (South Africa): Archaeology and hominid remains from the 2000 Field
    Season" Journal of Paleoanthropology 2: 14-83.

    C. Henshilwood and C.W. Marean (2003)

    "The origin of modern human behavior: A review and critique of the models and their
    test implications." Current Anthropology 44:627-651.

    P.J. Nilssen and C.W.Marean (2002)

    "Background and results from test excavations of Middle Stone Age sites at Pinnacle
    Point, Mossel Bay". Quaternary Research Centre Newsletter 10: 1-2.

    Team Members: 
    • Curtis Marean, Principal Investigator, SHESC
    • Peter Nilssen, Principal Investigator, Iziko South African Museum
    • Erin Lassiter
    • Jocelyn Bernatchez
    • Lydia Pyne
    • Jessica Thompson
    Funding Sources: 

    National Science Foundation - $242,000 current
    Hyse Family Trust - $50,000
    Iziko South African Museum
    University of Cape Town
    Dias Museum of Mossel Bay

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