🌋 Rewriting Da Kine Human Evolution Story: Apes Stay Live In Open Habitat 10 Million Years Mo’ Early Den We T’ought 🐒

Da University of Minnesota researchers stay shift da human evolution story wit’ paleontological an’ geological fieldwork, showing mo’ complex kine stuff den we t’ought bifo’. Two studies wen’ find dat early apes wen’ live in plenny kine habitats, including open habitats like scrublands an’ wooded grasslands, dat wen’ exist 10 million years mo’ early den we used to know. Dis research wen’ make one new framework fo’ da future studies ’bout ape evolutionary origins. Da findings stay suggest dat da modern ape anatomy might wen’ evolve in open woodlands among da leaf-eating apes, not in forest-dwelling fruit-eating apes. 🌿🍌

Long time, da human evolution story stay tell ’bout one forested Africa dat wen’ get mo’ dry, making open grasslands an’ causing our forest-loving ape ancestors fo’ leave da trees an’ become bipedal. Even doh ecological an’ fossil evidence wen’ show dat dis narrative stay too simple, da theory still stay strong in plenny evolutionary scenarios. 🌳➡️🌾

Two new studies, recently published in da journal Science, led by da University of Minnesota researchers wen’ put dis idea to rest. Da findings stay show paleoecological reconstructions of early ape fossil sites in eastern Africa dated to da early Miocene Epoch — between 23 an’ 16 million years ago — revealing dat early apes wen’ live in plenny kine habitats, including open habitats like scrublands an’ wooded grasslands, dat wen’ exist 10 million years mo’ early den we t’ought bifo’. 📚🦴

Da research findings stay include:

• Some of deez habitats wen’ get choke C4 plant biomass, grasses dat today stay all ova da tropical savannas, but we wen’ t’ought bifo’ dat dey wen’ become dominant only 10 million years ago. 🌾
• Da modern ape anatomy might wen’ evolve in open woodlands among da leaf-eating apes, not in forest-dwelling fruit-eating apes. 🌲🌳
• Da combination of open habitats wit’ choke C4 biomass in da Early Miocene stay suggest dat da traditional scenarios ’bout da evolution of animal an’ plant communities in Africa, including da origin of hominins, need fo’ be reconside’d. 🦍🌍

Researchers across nine fossil site complexes — wit’ 30 experts from African, North American, an’ European institutions — wen’ do paleontological an’ geological fieldwork, collecting thousands of fossil plant an’ animal remains an’ sampling fossil deposits fo’ get choke lines of evidence fo’ reconstruct da ancient habitats. 🌍🔍

“None of us could have wen’ reach deez conclusions working in isolation at our individual fossil sites,” said Kieran McNulty, one professor of Anthropology in da College of Liberal Arts, lead author an’ organizer of da decade-long Research on East African Catarrhine and Hominoid Evolution (REACHE) project. “Working in da fossil record stay challenging. We wen’ discova hints ’bout past life an’ need fo’ put ’em togedda an’ inta’pret ’em across space an’ time. It’s like one 4D puzzle, wea each team membah can only see some of da pieces.” 🧩

“You go into one project like dis not knowing fo’shua wat you goin’ find out, an’ das one exciting ting. In dis case, we wen’ find out we stay lookin’ at one picture of Early Miocene communities in eastern Africa dat stay quite different den wat we wen’ expect,” said David Fox, one professor in da Earth an’ Environmental Sciences Department in da College of Science an’ Engineering. “No had one single ‘ah ha moment’ but ova da years of field seasons an’ da steady build-up of new fossils an’ new data, we wen’ realize dat da environments of da earliest apes wen’ vary way mo’ from da traditional picture of forested habitats.” 🌴🔍

Da findings wen’ change wat we t’ought we knew ’bout da early apes, an’ da origin of wea, wen, an’ why dey navigate t’rough da trees an’ on da ground in multiple different ways,” said Robin Bernstein, program director fo’ biological anthropology at da National Science Foundation. “Fo’ da first time, by combining diverse lines of evidence, dis collaborative research team wen’ tie specific aspects of early ape anatomy to da kine detailed environmental changes in their habitat in eastern Africa, now revealed as mo’ open an’ less forested den we wen’ t’ought bifo’. Da effort wen’ outline one new framework fo’ future studies ’bout da ape evolutionary origins.” 🌳🔬

Da continued research at deez fossil sites goin’ help us fo’ bettah understand deez habitats, especially da kine smalla kine changes in space an’ time. Same way, similar kine collaborations focused on earlier an’ latah time periods stay needed fo’ fully understand da interactions between fossil species an’ their environments. 🏞️🦴

“Dis level of cooperation among different teams stay unique in paleoanthropology,” said McNulty. “Deez two studies stay highlight da importance of extending collaboration an’ talk story beyond our immediate research partners.” 🤝🔎

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NOW IN ENGLISH

🌋 Rewriting Human Evolution Story: Apes Lived in Open Habitats 10 Million Years Earlier Than Thought 🐒

University of Minnesota researchers are shifting the narrative of human evolution through paleontological and geological fieldwork, revealing a more complex story than previously thought. Two studies have found that early apes lived in a wide variety of habitats, including open habitats like scrublands and wooded grasslands, which existed 10 million years earlier than previously known. This research has led to a new framework for future studies on ape evolutionary origins. The findings suggest that modern ape anatomy may have evolved in open woodlands among leaf-eating apes, rather than in forest-dwelling fruit-eating apes. 🌿🍌

For a long time, the story of human evolution has been a tale of a forested Africa that gradually became drier, giving rise to open grasslands and causing our forest-loving ape ancestors to leave the trees and become bipedal. Although ecological and fossil evidence suggested this narrative was too simplistic, the theory remained prominent in many evolutionary scenarios. 🌳➡️🌾

Two new studies, recently published in the journal Science and led by University of Minnesota researchers, put this idea to rest. The findings show paleoecological reconstructions of early ape fossil sites in eastern Africa dated to the early Miocene Epoch — between 23 and 16 million years ago — revealing that early apes lived in a wide variety of habitats, including open habitats like scrublands and wooded grasslands that existed 10 million years earlier than previously thought. 📚🦴

Research findings include:

• Some of these habitats contained significant C4 plant biomass, grasses that today characterize tropical savannas, but were previously thought to have become dominant only 10 million years ago. 🌾
• Modern ape anatomy may have evolved in open woodlands among leaf-eating apes rather than in forest-dwelling fruit-eating apes. 🌲🌳
• The combination of open habitats with significant C4 biomass in the Early Miocene suggests that traditional scenarios regarding the evolution of animal and plant communities in Africa, including the origin of hominins, need to be reconsidered. 🦍🌍

Researchers across nine fossil site complexes — with 30 experts from African, North American, and European institutions — conducted paleontological and geological fieldwork, collecting thousands of fossil plant and animal remains and sampling fossil deposits for multiple lines of evidence to reconstruct the ancient habitats. 🌍🔍

“None of us could have reached these conclusions working in isolation at our individual fossil sites,” said Kieran McNulty, a professor of Anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts, lead author and organizer of the decade-long Research on East African Catarrhine and Hominoid Evolution (REACHE) project. “Working in the fossil record is challenging. We discover hints about past life and need to assemble and interpret them across space and time. It’s like a 4D puzzle, where each team member can only see some of the pieces.” 🧩

“You go into a project like this not knowing for sure what you will find out, which is exciting. In this case, we realized we were looking at a picture of Early Miocene communities in eastern Africa that is quite different than what we had expected,” said David Fox, a professor in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department in the College of Science and Engineering. “There was no single ‘ah ha moment’ but over years of field seasons and the steady accumulation of new fossils and new data, we realized that the environments of the earliest apes varied significantly from the traditional picture of forested habitats.” 🌴🔍