Bones of Ol Pejeta: Neotaphonomic and Ecological Survey, BONES (WGF - Post PhD Research Grant)

Summary

This resource is an application for the Post PhD Research Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation.

The remains of fossil animals represent an abundant dataset by which to address a variety of important questions relating to human evolution, including the ecological conditions in which our hominin ancestors evolved. However, because of the multitude of processes that modify or even remove remains from the fossil record, analytical techniques that utilize them cannot assume that the once living mammal species are represented accurately by their fossil bones. "Bones of Ol Pejeta: Neotaphonomic and Ecological Survey" is a long-term field study dedicated to understanding the processes that transform a living mammal community into a fossil assemblage through an investigation of these transformative processes at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. Preliminary analyses indicate that its bone community is largely representative of the composition and abundances of the living mammal community, with as-of-yet unexplained differences in the warthog population. Additional data on carnivore damage has been collected, which will lead to a greater understanding of how the damage inflicted by predators biases the resulting bone community. Finally, measurements of antelope bones that can be used to predict the habitats they exploit, have been taken to provide a test case for demonstrating how biases may affect ecological interpretations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Wenner-Gren Foundation

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Wenner-Gren Foundation

Notes

Rights & Attribution: This resource is an application from the Wenner-Gren Foundation and has been approved by the grantee solely for pedagogical purposes. Please do not cite, circulate, or duplicate any part of these documents without the express written consent of the author.

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