Taphonological and palynological studies have uncovered evidence of a rich fossil flora and fauna including many Canthium seeds, a genus found mainly in African woodlands and forests.
Additionally, fossil medium-sized colobine monkeys and kudas suggest that pre-historic Aramis may have been wet, closed, and wooded, whereas today the Middle Awash is one of the dryest, hottest, and most uninhabitable regions of the world.
The current Awash River travels south to north across the study region, eventually emptying into Lake Abbé on the Ethiopia-Djibouti border.
Sedimentary layers in Ethiopia's Afar depression's Middle Awash research area have revealed vertebrate fossils, including the world's oldest hominids.
The hominid-bearing layers are 4.4 million years old, according to radioisotopic dating, geochemical examination of interbedded volcanic ashes, and biochronological factors.
The heaviest and most broadly exhibited Middle Awash layers are Pliocene deposits, which crop out east and west of the current river.
After Gen Suwa identified hominid fossils in the Aramis headwaters on December 17, 1992, the inquiry focused on the area revealed between both the upper Adgantoli and lower Sagantole drainages.
The species A. afarensis, which is presumed to be descended from the Aramis hominids, is thought to have exhibited a wide range of ecological tolerances, as evidenced by the fact that its bones have been discovered in rather open settings.
Late Miocene Homininds New hominid remains from Ethiopia's Middle Awash region that age from 5.2–5.8 Myr and are linked to a forested paleoenvironment have been discovered.
Ardipithecus was phylogenetically near to the common ancestor of chimps and humans, based on the survival of primitive dental and postcranial features in these new fossils.