Geology, Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Mount Galili Formation in the southern Afar Depression, Ethiopia - Preliminary results Geologie, Paläontologie und Paläoanthropologie der Mount Galili- Formation in der südlichen Afarsenke Äthiopiens

Research of the international PAR (PaleoAnthropological Research) team un- der 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. Lithostrati- graphically, 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, ignim- brites, 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. Sev- eral hominid remains from Galili highlight the importance and fossil preservation poten- tial of the southern Awash region of Ethiopia.