Early hominin (plant-based) dietary adaptation in the southern East African Rift

DFG Project LU 2199/1:

Collaborators:  A. Mulch and J. Fiebig (Goethe University-Senckenberg BiK-F Joint Stable Isotope Facility); Heinrich Thiemeyer (Goethe University); F. Schrenk (Senckenberg)

The overarching goal of this project is to reconstruct (Plio-)Pleistocene paleotemperature, vegetation, precipitation and evaporation patterns of hominin localities in the southern part of the East African Rift (Karonga Basin, Malawi and Manyara Basin, Tanzania). We use hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and clumped isotopes on different proxies (fossil tooth enamel of fauna (including early hominins), pedogenic carbonate, and modern meteoric waters). We then link these paleoecological patterns with the diet of early hominins Homo rudolfensis and Paranthropus boisei.