Aramis is a village and archaeological site

Archaeological site

An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...

 in northeastern Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, where remains of Australopithecus

Australopithecus

Australopithecus is a genus of hominids that is now extinct. From the evidence gathered by palaeontologists and archaeologists, it appears that the Australopithecus genus evolved in eastern Africa around 4 million years ago before spreading throughout the continent and eventually becoming extinct...

and Ardipithecus

Ardipithecus

Ardipithecus is a very early hominin genus. Two species are described in the literature: A. ramidus, which lived about 4.4 million years ago during the early Pliocene, and A. kadabba, dated to approximately 5.6 million years ago ....

(Ardipithecus ramidus) have been found. The village is located in Administrative Zone 3

Administrative Zone 3 (Afar)

Administrative Zone 3 is one of five Zones of the Afar Region of Ethiopia. This zone is bordered on the south by the Oromia Region, on the southwest by the Amhara Region, on the west by the Argobba special woreda and Administrative Zone 5, on the north by Administrative Zone 1, and on the east by...

 of the Afar Region

Afar Region

Afar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....

 with a latitude and longitude of 10°30′N 40°30′E, and is part of the Gewane

Gewane (woreda)

Gewane is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Administrative Zone 3, Gewane is bordered on the south by Amibara, on the west by Bure Mudaytu, on the northwest by Administrative Zone 5, on the north by the Administrative Zone 1, on the east by the Somali Region, and on...

 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

.

The Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 did not mention this village in their 2005 population report.

Archeologists include the find site near the village as part of the Middle Awash

Middle Awash

The Middle Awash is an archaeological site along the Awash River in Ethiopia's Afar Depression. A number of Pleistocene and late Miocene hominid remains have been found at the site, along with some of the oldest known Olduwan stone artifacts and patches of fire-baked clay, disputed evidence of the...

 region. Taphonological

Taphonomy

Taphonomy is the study of decaying organisms over time and how they become fossilized . The term taphonomy was introduced to paleontology in 1940 by Russian scientist Ivan Efremov to describe the study of the transition of remains, parts, or products of organisms, from the biosphere, to the...

 and palynological

Palynology

Palynology is the science that studies contemporary and fossil palynomorphs, including pollen, spores, orbicules, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, chitinozoans and scolecodonts, together with particulate organic matter and kerogen found in sedimentary rocks and sediments...

 studies have uncovered evidence of a rich fossil flora and fauna including many Canthium

Canthium

Canthium is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. They are shrubs and small trees. The leaves are deciduous and the stems are usually thorny.-Distribution:They are native to India, Sri Lanka, and tropical East Africa.-Taxonomy:...

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 uninhabitable regions of the world.

In 1992 and 1993 a team led by Tim White found in total 17 specimens of hominid fossils at Aramis. These fossils were dated at 4.4 million years, 500,000 years earlier than the oldest afarensis fossils found in the eastern Middle Awash. This discovery was published on the front page of New York Times, and later a new genus and species of hominids was proposed, Ardipithecus ramidus.

External links

• White, Tim D., et al., "Asa Issie, Aramis and the Origin of Australopithecus," Nature 440 (April 13, 2006), 883-89.