Special Announcement

Museum Scientists Play Key Role in Discovery,
Analysis of Early Human Ancestor

Scientists from The Cleveland Museum of Natural History and Case Western Reserve University were part of an international team that discovered and published new research describing the 4.4 million-year-old hominid species Ardipithecus ramidus.

Working in the Afar Rift of Ethiopia since 1981, the Middle Awash research team found a partial skeleton of a female Ardipithecus ramidus in 1994. The specimen was found by Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie, curator and head of physical anthropology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Nicknamed "Ardi," the specimen is the earliest skeleton known from the human branch of the primate family tree. Its discovery provides new insights into human evolution. 

The Middle Awash paleoanthropological research project, which includes Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie; Dr. Scott Simpson, associate professor, Case Western Reserve University, Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine; and Dr. Bruce Latimer, associate professor, Case Western Reserve University, Department of Anthropology, excavated "Ardi" for three continuous field seasons and recovered key specimens of the partial skeleton, including the skull with teeth, arms, hands, pelvis, legs and feet. Dr. Linda Spurlock, director of human health at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, created a sculpture reconstruction of the hominid's pelvis.

The Middle Awash paleoanthropological research project is led by Dr. Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley.

Following years of analysis, results from the team's research will be published in the October 2, 2009 special issue of Science in the form of 11 detailed, peer-reviewed papers and general summaries.  

Press Backgrounder

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Photos

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Media Coverage

Cleveland Plain Dealer
WCPN
WCPN - Sound of Ideas
Columbus Dispatch
CNN
New York Times
National Geographic Blog Central
Ottawa Citizen
Columbus Dispatch, Sunday edition

Science Cover Image Caption: Partial skeleton of Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species living about 4.4 million years ago in Ethiopia. This female stood about 1.2 meters high. Eleven papers from an international team of authors published in print and online in this special issue describe the anatomy of this species and its habitat and discuss the implications for understanding human evolution. One result is that extant great apes are poor models for our last common ancestor with chimpanzees. Image: © T. White, 2008.