The deep human history of eastern Africa records the origins, survival, and evolution of modern humans. Few reliable chronologies exist, however, to answer questions related to this important period of human origins. Did humans change their technology in response to environmentally-induced risk? Was the emergence of behaviorally-modern technological repertoires gradual, abrupt, or punctuated? How and when did humans first transition from foraging to food production?

These are just a few examples of questions that our team is investigating in central Tanzania. Located in a UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Kondoa is world-famous for its dense and diverse depictions of hunter-gatherer and agropastoralist rock art. Less known is that within these shelters lies thick sedimentary deposits containing expansive archives of deep human history. At Kisese II, in particular, our team is working to combine high-resolution excavation methods with ethnoarchaeology, oral history, and educational outreach to advance knowledge of Tanzanian history and safeguard these important sites.

Since 2013 I have collaborated with the Koobi Fora Research and Training Program in northern Kenya as a researcher and student mentor. KFRTP is a collaborative project coordinated by The George Washington University and the National Museums of Kenya. This cutting-edge training program provides students with hands-on research-focused training in paleoanthropology, ecology, paleontology, and archaeology at one of the most famous paleanthropological sites in the world.

Within the KFRTP my research investigates Late Pleistocene landscape archaeology. Since 2015 we have conducted targeted geoarchaeological surveys at Ileret, Karari, and Koobi Fora. Through these surveys, several scatters of Middle Stone Age artifacts were documented, as well as in situ Late Pleistocene sediments. Beginning in 2016 our team has excavated GaJj17 near Lake Turkana. This work is conducted in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of the Witswatersrand. We are grateful to The Leakey Foundation and The Wenner-Gren Foundation.