NYCEP Research in Comparative Morphology and Paleontology

In the Morphology area, Bromage (CUNY), Delson (CUNY), Harrison (NYU), Harvati (NYU), and Plummer (CUNY) lead paleoanthropological and paleontological field projects in Africa, Europe and Asia. These projects, often conducted in collaboration with local researchers, focus on an interdisciplinary approach to primate and human evolution and have sought to train local researchers and promote these research topics in their home countries. NYCEP students have participated regularly in these various field projects.

Tim Bromage has conducted geological and paleontological studies in Malawi (and later Tanzania) for the last 15 years in close collaboration with German researcher F. Schrenk and his colleagues. The Hominid Corridor Research Project has pioneered paleoanthropological research outside of East and South Africa, and has documented the presence of hominins in Malawi, the intuitive migration corridor connecting the two traditionally investigated hominid-bearing parts of Africa. Bromage's research has emphasized the reconstruction of paleoenvironments and on the impact of climate on human evolution. Six NYCEP graduate students have participated in this work.

Eric Delson has recently initiated field research at the Pliocene site of Senèze, France, in collaboration with colleagues from the Universities of Lyon. This work involves the re-excavation of a previously known, rich paleontological site, in order to clarify its age, taphonomy and paleoenvironment and to collect further remains of rare taxa such as carnivores and primates. Seven NYCEP graduate students (plus nearly 20 French students) and two NYCEP faculty members have participated in this project, and others will join Delson this summer. Improving communication between French and US students, and training them in modern paleontological methods, are additional major goals of the project. See http://research.amnh.org/nycep/Senèze

Terry Harrison is directing geological and paleontological research at the renowned early hominin locality of Laetoli in northern Tanzania. This is a major international multidisciplinary project involving more than thirty scientists from eight different countries, with expertise in geology, sedimentology, geochemistry, radiometric dating, isotopic studies, vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, paleobotany, palynology, paleoecology, taphonomy, and modern faunas and floras. The project provides unique opportunities for graduate student training, and since its inception 17 graduate students, primarily from NYCEP, have participated in the fieldwork (see Su in dissertation list). In addition, the project involves productive educational and research links with Tanzanian institutions, especially the National Museums, the Antiquities Department and the University of Dar es Salaam. Three Tanzanian students from these institutions have been trained at NYU as part of the NYCEP program. Harrison is also involved in field research at Pleistocene and early Holocene cave sites in Borneo, which is part of a larger collaborative project with NYCEP graduate students (e.g., Krigbaum, Manser) that aims to investigate the impact of global and regional climatic change, island biogeography, and human subsistence activities on the mammalian community in Southeast Asia during the late Quaternary. See http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/anthro/grad/tanzania.htm

Tom Plummer's research focuses on behavioral reconstructions of fossil hominins and paleoecological reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene African localities (The Homa Peninsula Paleontological Project). His current focus is on the behavior and ecology of the hominins forming the earliest (Oldowan) archeological sites, such as those at Kanjera, Kenya. Plummer's research involves current and planned collaboration with other NYCEP faculty (Delson, Bromage, Harrison), former NYCEP graduates (Frost), potential dissertation projects for incoming NYCEP students and summer field internship opportunities for the NYCEP graduate program.

These and other NYCEP faculty also conduct analytical research in New York, where they supervise additional graduate students. Recent additions to the NYCEP morphology faculty include Stefan (Lehman/CUNY), who analyzes human cranial variation, and Meng (AMNH), who undertakes field and laboratory study of early mammalian evolution. Other new NYCEP faculty in this area include Rosenberger (Brooklyn/CUNY), Terranova (CUNY Medical School), Antón (NYU), and Pechenkina (CUNY).