Photo: Faysal Bibi
PALEONILE is investigating the evolution of animals, ecosystems and early humans along the Nile in present-day Sudan. Funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant to Faysal Bibi, the project is the first to systematically investigate the Pleistocene fossils and archaeological sites of the Sudanese Nile Basin – a key region linking sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and Eurasia.
The aim of the project is to gain a better understanding of the role of the Nile corridor in the dispersal of animal species, early humans and ecosystems over the last hundred thousand years. To this end, PALEONILE combines palaeontology, archaeology, geology, geochronology and modern biomolecular methods into an interdisciplinary research approach.
The project is being carried out by the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, led by Prof. Dr Faysal Bibi, in collaboration with international partners. A key focus is also on the long-term development of scientific collaborations and research capacities with Sudanese institutions.
Following the outbreak of war in Sudan in the spring of 2023, the planned fieldwork had to be temporarily suspended. However, the scientific analysis of the samples already collected and international collaboration are continuing. The researchers are preparing further analyses and hope to be able to resume fieldwork as soon as the security situation permits.
Research
Before the launch of PALEONILE, the Pleistocene fossil record of Sudan had been scarcely studied, despite the country’s central geographical location. The project is filling this knowledge gap through large-scale fieldwork, stratigraphic investigations and modern dating methods.
The researchers are analysing vertebrate fossils, archaeological sites and sedimentary sequences to reconstruct the evolution of landscapes, climatic conditions and animal communities. The investigations are complemented by stable isotope analyses, palaeobiomolecular methods, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating.
The very first field campaigns have already identified numerous new fossil sites and documented significant fossils from the Middle and Late Pleistocene, including large mammals, crocodiles, primates and early members of the genus Homo. The dating results enable the fossils to be chronologically contextualised for the first time and provide new insights into the environmental and climatic history of the Nile Basin.
International cooperation
PALEONILE is the first large-scale palaeontological research project to be carried out in Sudan in collaboration with Sudanese scientists. The project brings together researchers from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin with Al Neelain University in Khartoum, the Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG), the Université de Bordeaux and other international partners.
A key component of the project is the sustainable development of scientific capacity. As part of PALEONILE, Sudanese scientists at Master’s, PhD and postdoctoral levels are being trained and integrated into international research in the long term.
Team
Elsiddig Abdallah, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
Ali Eisawi, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
Aisha Huseen, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
Mosab Mohammednoor, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
Khalafallah Salih, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
Manal Siyam, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
Robert Bussert, Technical University Berlin, Germany.
Anne Delagnes, PACEA Lab, University of Bordeaux, France.
Hamad Hamdeen, Al Neelain University, Sudan.
Michael Hofreiter, University of Potsdam, Germany.
Brian Kraatz, Western University of Health Sciences, USA.
Sumiko Tsukamoto, Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics, Hannover & University of Tübingen, Germany.
Funding
PALEONILE is funded under an ERC Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The project will run from 2022 to 2027 (with an expected extension) and is being coordinated at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin under the leadership of Prof. Dr Faysal Bibi.
Publications
Salih, K., Müller, J., Eisawi, A., Bibi, F. (2025). A new late Pleistocene fossil crocodile from Sudan reveals hidden diversity of Crocodylus in Africa. Scientific Reports, 15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08980-6
Mohammednoor, M., Bibi, F., Struck, U., Eisawi, A., Bussert, R. (2025). Pleistocene pedogenic carbonates from alluvial paleosols in eastern Sudan reveal a semi-arid and seasonal climate, similar to today. CATENA, 248, 108583. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2024.108583
Mohammednoor, M., Bibi, F., Eisawi, A., Tsukamoto, S., Bussert, R. (2023). Quaternary alluvial paleosols of the Atbara River, eastern Sudan: description and paleoenvironments. Journal of Quaternary Science, 39(1), 102-118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3574
PALEONILE is funded under an ERC Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC).