The proposed activity will constitute an important cross-disciplinary collaborative opportunity, involving earth scientists, paleoanthropologists, and archaeologists, to provide high priority research priorities for an improved understanding of the environmental parameters"particularly paleoclimate" that significantly impacted the evolution of our species. Funds are requested to support an 18-month National Research Council study to assess the present understanding of the earth system context for hominin evolution during the past 8 million years; describe high priority research directions for an enhanced understanding of the paleoenvironmental context for hominin evolution; and describe optimum strategies for achieving the priority research objectives, with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary initiatives. In addition, the committee will suggest strategies for broad scientific dissemination of credible information concerning the earth system context for hominin evolution.
