Fieldwork conducted in the exceptional geo-chronological context of the Buia sedimentary basin in the Eritrean Danakil Depression and centred on the final phases of the Lower Pleistocene, has enabled us to shed light on one of the most controversial issues of palaeo-anthropology: the transition from the first archaic forms of Homo to those from which anatomically modern H. sapiens descends directly. The project, started in 1995 and coordinated as of 2010 by the Sapienza University, is characterized by a multidisciplinary approach and has seen the involvement of researchers from a variety of Italian, Eritrean and international institutions. It has, throughout the years, brought to the discovery of many human fossil remains dated to ca. 1 Ma from the sites of Uadi Aalad and Mulhuli Amo as well as of what appears to be the first H. erectus footprints ever discovered.
Research over the past years has not only brought to the identification of over 200 sites both rich in fossils and material culture but it has likewise brought to the collection, among other things, of a variety of human fossil remains that attest the presence of at least five individuals at Mulhuli Amo. The spatial distribution of these finds confirms the richness of this fossil-bearing site whilst indicating that the high-potential area that needs to be investigated is wide spread and not limited to the flank where investigations have focused to this day. The footprints discovered in November 2015 open new frontiers to the already vibrant context of human evolution, the evolutionary trends in H. erectus/ergaster, and the multidisciplinary investigations of this specific portion of the African Rift.
Indeed, research conducted and the constant discovery of - at times even unexpected ¿ finds confirms, yet again, the utmost necessity of further investigations in this extraordinary portion of the Danakil depression in light of the incredible richness presented and its central role in human evolution.
The extreme richness of the fossiliferous areas surrounding Buia, have been proven over thepast decades. Apart from the uncovering of the renowned 1 Ma H. erectus cranium that hasgiven great insight into a moment of fundamental importance in the understanding of humanevolution such as the one believed to have given rise, in East Africa, to anatomically modern H.sapiens, it has in the past years constantly brought to the discovery of human fossil remains.
Similar advancement of knowledge can be achieved only through a multidisciplinary approachintegrating the information obtained through bio-evolutionary analyses with that derived fromstudies of cultural aspects and of the development of cognitive functions. Moreover, it is crucialto set the evolutionary phenomena within a wider framework that takes into account both thegeological and the palaeoenvironmental contexts within which the changes occurred. Thecurrent understanding of the East African paleo-environment emphasizes the presence of extreme dynamism, in both the Red Sea and the East African rift systems, that contributed to thedevelopment of different ecosystems. It is, furthermore believed, that the variability of theseecosystems was an important factor for shaping the human evolutionary scenario and that,consequently, these two aspects are inexorably linked. The application, in this project, of newmodels of paleo-geographical dynamics and their associated ecosystems should substantially contribute to the general understanding of these, to this day, still insufficiently understood phenomena. Furthermore, the present project foresees the elaboration and finalization of specific analytical software to investigate the possible migration models, of both Homo and theassociated mammal fauna, to Eurasia during the final stages of the Lower Pleistocene and theMiddle Pleistocene. Original and comparative data (available in literature. e.g. www.paleodb.org; www.helsinki.fi/science/now/) will be used to construct, using an innovative methodologicalapproach, mathematical models to understand the ecological context of the dispersal of H.30/5/2016 Sistema GestioneBandi https://bandiricerca.uniroma1.it/sigeba/#/proposte/120868/view 7/21 approach, mathematical models to understand the ecological context of the dispersal of H.erectus/ergaster to Eurasia from his place of origin in East Africa.
Modern humans have unusual anatomy, subsistence strategies, landscape use, life history, andbehaviour. Even though there is general consensus regarding the fact that a combination of ecological factors must have played an important role in the evolution of these characteristics that are, in most cases, defining features of our species, there is very little direct evidence indeep time of hominin gait, landscape use, group behaviour, and its ecological setting. This also due to the fact that evidence about anatomy and behaviour cannot be found in bones and teeththat are what form most of the fossil record. The extremely recent discovery (during the 2015field campaign) of what appears to be a 800 Ka hominin footprint assemblage at Aalad-Amo, andconsequently, should this be confirmed, the first set of footprints pertaining to H. erectus discovered, positions Buia among the very rare and unique sites capable of giving directinformation regarding posture and locomotion. The enlargement of the exposed surface as wellas its in-depth analysis through the use of cutting edge techniques could consequently provideunprecedented information regarding foot anatomy, stature, body mass, and locomotorbiomechanics (including gait and walking speed) of H. erectus/ergaster around 0.8 Ma. Inaddition, this finding gives scientists critical clues to understanding how hominins behaved andfared in their environment at that time, adding a new piece to the puzzle of human evolution.
Furthermore, the 2017 campaign will be focused toward the Middle Pleistocene evidence of the region, looking for an occupational continuity through the Upper Pleistocenein a central area for the emergence of Homo sapiens.
The employment of cutting edge techniques will furthermore enable the implementation anddetail of the data acquired. Methodologies applied to fossils will include high resolution 3D laser scan images that will integrate the microtomographic record and that will therefore renderavailable virtual models for morphometric geometry that could then be compared with openaccess resourses (e.g. www.nespos.org) or casts.
Population dynamics in Holocene East Africa focusing on, in particular, bio-cultural adaptationand peopling during late prehistory and proto-history; aspects that are, to this day, uninvestigated from a physical anthropological perspective. We also perform on the extant population genome-wide analyses using next generation sequencing. Through these analyses wewill investigate the evolutionary history of these populations. The high amount of data will beprocessed using dedicated bioinformatic tools.