Geology, Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Mount Galili Formation in the southern Afar Depression, Ethiopia- Preliminary results.

Research of the international PAR (PaleoAnthropological Research) team under the leadership of the Institute for Anthropology, University of Vienna, started in 2000 and will be continued over the next years in the southern Afar Depression of Ethiopia. The Pliocene sedimentary succession represents the eastern rift shoulder of the northernmost Quarternary active segment of the Main Ethiopian Rift. Lithostratigraphically, the fossiliferous lacustrine and fluvial deposits, as well as the intercalated volcanic layers of the Mount Galili Formation in the PAR excavation area, belong to the ¿Upper Stratoid Series¿ (5¿1.4 Ma). Volcanic marker beds comprising basalts, ignim­brites, pumice and lapilli tuffs were used for a subdivision into lithostratigraphically defined members. Thereby, the geochemistry of the basalts indicates the magmato- tectonic setting in the transitional zone between continental and oceanic rifting. Several hominid remains from Galili highlight the importance and fossil preservation potential of the southern Awash region of Ethiopia. After Macchiarelli et al. (2004) results from first comparative analyses of a hominid tooth (specimen GLL33) illustrate morphological affinities to Australopithecus afarensis (Johanson, 1978) and Australopithecus anamensis (Leakey, 1995). The geological and faunal context indicate an Early to Middle Pliocene age for GLL33 representing a male individual of advanced age-at-death. The recovered faunal remains indicate a land­scape of woods and grassy woodland differentiated by a river and lake system with seasonal dry periods.