A number of hominin fossils have recently come to light from Swartkrans, including cranial, dental and post-cranial remains. These fossils are currently being described and analyzed in collaboration with researchers from the Transvaal Museum, the University of the Witwatersrand and SUNY, Stony Brook.

Ongoing excavations at sites such as Coopers and Plovers Lake in Gauteng , and new exploration in the Free State of South Africa are producing rich and varied faunal assemblages, including hominin materials. Dr. de Ruiter functions as the project specialist zooarchaeologist on these (and other) excavations in the Cradle of Humankind - World Heritage Area of South Africa. These excavations are being conducted in collaboration with the University of the Witwatersrand, Duke University and the Transvaal Museum.

Understanding the paleocommunity structure of faunal assemblages in southern Africa is fundamental to questions relating to the paleobiology and paleoecology of the hominins. This research project aims to examine the composition of several faunal assemblages in South Africa via ecological structure analysis. This involves detailing a variety of ecological characteristics of the faunal community to which the hominins belonged. Fluctuations in climatic and environmental conditions are likely to have a dramatic effect on the constitution of the faunal assemblages, and patterns are sought over time which might reflect such change. Within such a framework of ecological variability details of hominin evolution, ecology and habitat tolerance will be illuminated.

One of the most important methods for reconstructing the diet and ecology of early hominids in South Africa involves isotopic and elemental analysis of fossil material. This research entails sampling for carbon and oxygen isotopes, as well as elements such as Sr and Ca, to determine the relative contribution of various foods to the diets of individual hominins. The aims of this research project are twofold: one aim is to sample the fossil hominins and their contemporary faunal community; another aim is to establish a modern baseline from which to interpret the fossil results. This involves collecting isotope data from both the flora and the fauna of the Kruger Park in South Africa. Although occasional unexpected animal interactions occur in the Kruger, the information produced from this multi-year project are proving to be tremendously influential in our interpretations of the fossil hominins. One exciting new possibility we are examining is whether we can detect any patterns of seasonal migration in the hominins of South Africa. Although such migration has been previously hypothesized, supporting data have been elusive until now. This research is being conducted in collaboration with the University of Cape Town and the University of Colorado.