Project description
The evolutionary landscape of modern human origins in Africa
New fossils, dates and genomic studies have consolidated the African origin of Homo sapiens. However, they also reveal a more complex past. 1.4 million years ago climate dynamics changed, starting a one-million-year period at the end of which the structure of the large mammal community in East Africa had changed dramatically. The EU-funded NGIPALAJEM project will bring new information on the evolution of H. sapiens as part of a broader and longer African evolutionary environment. The project will build on major new hominin discoveries in Turkana, Kenya, studied in the context of their past ecological context, and add more specimens to the hominin and large vertebrate fossil records from that period in Africa.
Objective
Our understanding of the origins of our species, Homo sapiens, has undergone a major shift. New fossils, dates and genomic studies have consolidated our African origin. Yet, they also indicate a deeper past, involving multiple events. These events stretch to nearly three quarters of a million years ago (Ma), and take the problem of modern human origins into an entirely different climatic and ecological context. From 1.4 Ma, climate dynamics changed, initiating a 1 million-year period (EMPT) during which, besides greater climatic variability, there is a prolonged arid phase, profoundly affecting African environments. By the end of the EMPT, the structure of the large mammal community in East Africa had changed significantly. The first modern humans are part of this change. The recognition of this older, drier context for the evolution of our species drives NGIPALAJEM. The proposed research aims to establish major empirical benchmarks to answer big questions. First, building on new hominin discoveries in Turkana, NGIPALAJEM will undertake extensive fieldwork to add more specimens to the scarce hominin fossil record of this period. Second, it will increase the large vertebrate fossil record from Turkana, and carry out inter-site eco-morphological and palaeoproteomic comparative analyses to throw light on the wider evolutionary dynamics of ecological communities, and investigate the role human predation may have played in shaping modern African faunas. Third, new fossils, such as the new small Middle Pleistocene Turkana hominins that will be described as part of the project, show that the range of hominin phenotypic diversity in the MP is greater than expected, and so novel morphometric and analytical techniques will be applied to the African hominin fossil record of the last million years. The outcomes of NGIPALAJEM will bring a new understanding of how the evolution of our species is part of a broader and longer African evolutionary landscape.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- social sciences sociology anthropology physical anthropology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-ADG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
CB2 1TN CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.