African lake sediment samples sought for clues linking climate and human evolution

University of Arizona scientists are leading an effort to take cores of lake sediment samples from sites in Kenya and Ethiopia, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The samples, they say, could give clues to how past climate change is linked with human evolution.

The researchers will specifically look at the relationship between fossil records and ecological conditions. Drilling is taking place in the African Rift Valley and will collect cores from millions of years ago.

More than 50 scientists participating in the expedition hope to gain more understanding of early hominids. The group of animals includes humans and their relatives. All hominids, except for humans, have gone extinct.