Climate variability and human evolution: A perspective from palaeo-lake Naivasha, Kenya

Earth, Atmosphere and Ocean Processes

UCL

NHM

Anson Mackay (UCL Geography),
David Williams (NHM Botany),

Africa is widely known to be the place where most of the Hominin species have evolved. East Africa, in particular, is one of the areas where Hominin species were able to thrive, they may also have been endemic there, and scientists found the earliest evidence of Mode 3 technologies (Middle Stone Age,MSA). The East African climate shows important disparities with both tropical forest and deserts being present (dry and humid climate settings). Many studies showed that changes in these climate settings may have influenced Hominin speciation and dispersion; however, few of them have focused on annual to decadal climate variability. This PhD project will use diatomite beds from the Ol Njorowa Gorge in Kenya (palaeo-lake Naivasha) to reconstruct the climate variability at annual to decadal time-scales during the time-period 150-75kyr BP. This will result in the creation of high-resolution records using a multi-proxy approach (diatom assemblages, δ18O measurements, XRF and XRD measurements) along with the development of an age model at annual to decadal resolution. The records will be compared to the presence of MSA tools in nearby archaeological sites in order to assess the presence of Homo sapiens in the area.

• New Research Worker Award – Quaternary Research Association
• Mead Travel Fund – UCL Geography
• NEIF 2411.0321 – NERC – NEIF
• –

None