Archeologists are inviting online community members worldwide to help them scan around one million pictures of a Kenyan archeological dig believed to be the home of man's earliest ancestors. A website has been set up for this endeavor on September 8.

The project leader Doctor Andrew Wilson said the team decided to let the online community participate in the ongoing archeological work of looking for fossils in Turkana Basin in Kenya.

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Wilson, who also worked for the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom, explained that the current workload is simply too much for his team to handle. This is why they have decided to set up a website in order for archeology enthusiasts to help in the search for the early ancestors of modern man. The site was opened during the British Science Festival held on September 8.

One million pictures of the Turkana Basin taken by various photo devices will be made available on the internet. Wilson said that looking for fossils in those images will need the expertise of the human eyes that computers today simply cannot provide.

The fossils that archeologists hope to be discovered are from three different homo genus species which came into existence more than a million years ago. The researchers are also looking for evidence that these early human ancestors have mastered the use of tools.

The annual rains in the Turkana Basin regularly yields new fossils, which is why the research team are trying to speed up the discovery process.

Those who wish to volunteer their time and effort can simply go to fossilfinder.org. Before venturing to find the elusive fossils, netizens will have to familiarize themselves with the items that they should be looking for.

Any suspected fossil reported by a volunteer will need to be verified by at least nine peers in order to make sure that the find is legitimate.

Fellow project head Doctor Adrian Evans said any netizen, who is unsure of a particular item, can post it in a forum provided in the site so that other people can analyze the suspected fossil and either confirm or dispute it. Evans hinted that people who can spot a remarkable find can expect to be given some type of reward.

TagsTurkana basin, Lake Turkana, homo genus, human ancestor, archeologist, human fossil, human species, Homo species, online fossil hunter, fossil finder