Working in collaboration with local scholars, Dr. Tim White will conduct a large-scale, on the ground survey of areas within the Rift Valley region of Ethiopia. The goal of the project is to locate promising sites for paleoanthropological and paleontological research. The survey approach is stratified, employing satellite imagery, aerial photography, and light aircraft reconnaissance to locate areas of potential significance. These will then be explored in more detail through vehicle and foot survey and yield data on geological, archaeological, and paleontological resources. A first year reconnaissance has revealed several fossiliferous sites of Plio- Pleistocene age. Ethiopia is one of the most promising areas in the world for research into human origins. The small number of Ethiopian sites discovered to date have been instrumental in providing material evidence for vertebrate evolution and human origins. Deposits yet to be adequately explored contain sediments which document the late Miocene period; others, yet undiscovered, likely exist. A variety of evidence suggests that humans first appeared during this interval yet, because of the rarity of fossil bearing deposits, almost no remains have been recovered. This research will, hopefully, help to fill this gap. This research is important for several reasons. In addition to the site inventory which Dr. White and his colleagues will produce, it will assist in the training of African scientists. It should also serve to strengthen paleoanthropological ties between the U.S. and Ethiopia and help establish mechanisms which will facilitate American work in this country.
