A PHOTOGRAPHIC FAUNAL CATALOGUE OF EAST AFRICAN MAMMALS APPLIED TO PALEOANTHROPOLOGICAL FIELDWORK

The study of fossilized faunal remains provides resources for diet and substrate reconstruction of past environments. By studying modern fauna we can provide a comparative basis for such reconstructive studies, and apply the information learned to shed light upon the changing environments in which human evolution occurred. Reference collections are an important component of such research; creating a digital photographic catalogue of representative modern correlates is the first step in broadening access to those materials. The creation of this type of catalogue for prehistoric East African fauna simultaneously provided a practical study aide in preparation for fieldwork in Ethiopia. This catalogue was completed using resources from the Department of Vertebrate Zoology collections at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and subsequently applied to curation work in the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa and the following fieldwork in the Afar region of Ethiopia, as part of the Gona Paleoanthropological Research Project. The application of this digital catalogue in the later stages of research provided a unique opportunity to examine the benefits as well as the flaws of the catalogue in the practical environment of fossil collection and curation.