Palaeontological pilot survey of unstudied sediments in the Chiwondo Beds, Northern Malawi

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ottmar Kullmer
• Subject Area: Geology
• Term: from 2021 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 495513403

With the proposed project we plan a paleontological exploration in Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary deposits in the hominin-bearing "Chiwondo Beds" in northern Malawi. During a three-week field campaign, we aim to conduct a systematic survey of the sedimentary surface in three geographically restricted areas that have not been studied before, in order to recover additional fossil vertebrate remains and assess the potential for further paleontological fieldwork.The content of the project focuses on the role of the southeastern African Malawi Rift as an expansion and migration corridor between eastern and southern African faunas in the Plio-Pleistocene during the emergence of the genus Homo.Given the particular geographic location between the famous hominin sites in eastern Africa and South Africa, the extensive geologic time period, and the rare Homo and Paranthropus remains already attested, a comprehensive understanding of the biostratigraphy in the sedimentary sequence is important. Because the Chiwondo Beds sediments have a fairly low fossil density compared to other known sites in the East African Rift System, we plan to explore as much sediment surface as possible in the targeted three weeks. This will allow us to draw a comprehensive picture of the fossil potential from the western rift shoulder to the shore of present-day Lake Malawi.The main goal is to increase the number of identifiable vertebrate fossils in their stratigraphic context to allow faunal reconstruction of even the older sedimentary Unit 2 compared to the better known younger Chiwondo Beds faunas from Unit 3 sediments.We focus exclusively on areas of the Chiwondo Beds that have never been systematically studied before. Sediments exposed in the proposed study areas are expected to contain additional fossil vertebrate remains from the stratigraphically oldest deposits older than 3.75 Ma. A more complete knowledge of the large mammal faunal composition of Unit 2 of the Chiwondo Beds is essential to more detailed trace the temporal changes in environmental conditions toward somewhat drier habitats, as evidenced in the later Pliocene with the first appearance of the genus Homo around 2.5 Ma.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants