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An impromptu GIS
“class” at base camp. From left to right: Meave
Leakey, Benson Maina (yellow shirt), Nasser
Malit (blue shirt), and George Chaplin. |
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earching for human ancestors requires a lot of
knowledge, footwork, patience, and some luck. In
recent years, technology has played an increasing role
in the search for fossils and the management of
information on fossils after they have been
discovered.
Paleontology is often undertaken in poorly mapped
areas. This is certainly true for Koobi Fora. For most
of the first thirty years of exploration at Koobi
Fora, all information on the location of fossils was
placed and stored on aerial photographs. This involves
the making of tiny pin-pricks on aerial photographs,
and notation on the back of the photo of the specimen
that was found there. This method permits the fossil
to be placed in context in the landscape, and allows
the collection point can be relocated. The method also
permits a limited amount of analysis about the
co-occurrence of fossils in a given area. Information
on the geological context of fossils can be marked
either directly on the aerial or on an acetate
overlay.
Over the years, hundreds of aerial photos with
thousands of fossil pinpoints on them were generated
at Koobi Fora. This was an accurate and robust method
at the time, but by the late 1990s, it became clear
that the method had limitations in terms of accuracy
and data security, and that aerials and overlays were
becoming unworkable for long-term information
management.
Since 2000, the Koobi Fora Research Project has used
GPS (global positioning system) technology to record
fossil finds. GPS is the obvious method of locating
fossils in the field. It is efficient and precise
enough to enable easy relocation with the “navigate
to” function of the GPS. The widespread use of GPS
technology, however, brought to light one of the major
shortcomings of aerial photographs, which is that
aerial photos do not reside in what geographers refer
to as “geographical” coordinates or other formalized
systems of geographic space. This meant that fossil
points located by GPS could not be placed accurately
on the aerial. Fortunately, integration of GIS
(geographic information systems) technology at Koobi
Fora has helped to solve this problem.
In 2001, the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) received
a donation of GIS software from the Environmental
Systems Research Institute (ESRI). This donation was
made through the kind offices of ESRI’s Conservation
Program, directed by Charles Convis. The donation was
administered by the California Academy of Sciences (CAS),
which agreed to serve as and “international mentor”
for the donation – being responsible for
implementation of GIS software installation and
training at the NMK. The donation was arranged by
myself and fellow CAS scientist George Chaplin. In
mid-2001, George provided introductory instruction in
GIS (and GPS integration) to NMK staff, and followed
up with intermediate-level instruction at the NMK
again in late 2002.
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One of the recent maps we have produced showing fossil
locations superimposed on a georectified aerial photograph. |
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This brings us back to the field. A typical day in the
field involves what we might call the “discovery team”
conducting a detailed surface survey of a specific
area of fossiliferous exposures. The area to be
surveyed is decided using GIS. Firstly, the pattern of
previous fossil discoveries, which have been
retrospectively geocoded, is mapped. This information
is then integrated with geological information gleaned
from aerial photos, satellite images and ground
surveys to decide which areas might be most profitably
surveyed. When the discovery team finds an interesting
fossil, one of the team members is called over to take
a photograph of the fossil and a GPS reading on the
location. A rock cairn is placed near the fossil to
mark the point of the find, but the fossil remains
undisturbed in or on the ground. At the end of the
day, the
GPS points for the fossils are downloaded directly
into an Excel spreadsheet and transferred to the GIS.
The photos of the fossils taken in the field are
reviewed and decisions are made as to which fossils
will be actually collected or that at least warrant
close inspection. The next day, the “collection team”
goes into the field to recover the significant
fossils. Because the locations are often widely
scattered over rough terrain, we utilize the GIS to
solve the “traveling salesman problem” of the order in
which the fossil locations need to be visited. After
the fossil is examined by the collection team, a final
decision is made as to whether to collect the fossil
or leave it in the ground. If the fossil is collected,
new digital photos of the specimen and the geological
context of the photo are taken. If it is decided to
leave the fossil in situ (because of its limited
scientific value or because of limitations of space
for storage), a photo of the specimen only is taken.
These photos and the fossil locality spreadsheet (with
the GPS data) are then hyperlinked to the specimen
spreadsheet. The contents of the spreadsheets are then
exported to the GIS.
GIS makes it possible to instantly produce simple maps
of fossil localities. These maps are of great
practical use because they can be used to plan further
collection efforts. But the greatest value of GIS lies
in its power to integrate spatial information on
fossil occurrences and their geological and
environmental contexts. With spatial information
stored digitally rather than as pin-pricks and as
lines on overlays, GIS can instantly show interesting
patterns of aggregation. Often, apparently widely
dispersed occurrences are found to be originating in
one geological bed. Besides these point-patterns,
associations between species – such as probable
associations of aquatic or forest-loving species – can
be preliminarily investigated and then pursued with
spatial statistics back in the lab. At Koobi Fora,
work is progressing on full integration of maps of
fossil localities with the detailed geological maps
drawn for the area. Once these are integrated, we will
be able to clearly view and analyze the relationship
of particular species to specific geological facies
and paleoenvironments. With every passing year, GPS,
GIS and remote sensing technology is being increasing
marshaled in the service of the Koobi Fora Research
Project in order to streamline the search and analysis
of ancient human and animal fossils. Technology is not
just enhancing work at Koobi Fora, it is truly
changing the way we study and understand where and how
our ancestors lived 
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Koobi Fora Research Project annual
paleoanthropological expedition. |
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LOCATION:
The area surrounding Lake Turkana, in the
extreme north of Kenya. This region is
extremely rich in hominid fossils and has
produced some of the oldest dates for Homo.
Launch
Position Locator. |
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PURPOSE:
To increase knowledge of the origins of our
genus, Homo, and the context in which
we evolved. |
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