The primary objective of this proposal is to continue excavations at an important fossil-bearing site in Kenya. The site, Maboko Island has yielded some very important fossil primates dated to the Middle Miocene, a time period of great anthropological importance as it frames the divergence of the Old World monkeys and apes. There has long been debate as to the conditions that allowed the diversification of the higher primates. Due to the rich fossiliferous beds at Maboko, the investigator should be able to clarify not only the diversity of middle Miocene mammals, but also the climatic and environmental conditions in which they existed.
