The main objective of this Dissertation Improvement proposal is to clarify the forces affecting the fate of an animal's remains; its taphonomy. By so doing, one is able to better interpret the collections of remains which have survived to be discovered as fossils. Remains of animals inhabiting different habitats are subject to different physical, chemical and biotic forces. Here, the investigators will conduct subaerial excavations in varying ecological zones in Mahale Mountain National Park in Tanzania. An inventory of bones, as to taxon, completeness, age group, degree of damage due to the action of carnivores and/or scavengers and other variables will be assembled. Comparisons across habitats should provide useful information about ancestral hominid species. This is a particularly useful study site as there already is much known about the behavior of mammals, particularly primates, in the area. Additional there are a variety of habitat types contained within a small geographic area.
