Yohannes Haile-Selassie
Encyclopedia
Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie (b. Adigrat
, Ethiopia
, February 23, 1961) is an Ethiopian paleoanthropologist
. An authority on pre-Homo sapiens hominids, he particularly focuses his attention on the Great Rift Valley
and Middle Awash
Valleys of East Africa
.
He began his education at Addis Ababa University
in Addis Ababa
, graduating in the summer of 1982 with a B.A. degree in history. His first job was at the National Museum of Ethiopia
in Addis Ababa.
His graduate education began at The University of California, Berkeley, where he was mentored by Tim White
and earned an M.A. in Anthropology in 1995 and a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology in 2001. In 2002, he became the Curator and Head of Physical Anthropology
Department at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
in Cleveland, Ohio
, where he works currently. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Anatomy at Case Western Reserve University
.
Yohannes is well known in the field of paleoanthropology for having a gift for fossil
spotting, with his first fossil hunting expedition (White's Middle Awash Project) taking place in 1990. He has been instrumental in the discoveries of the type specimen (principal reference fossil) for Australopithecus garhi
and Ardipithecus kadabba
(both discovered in 1997), and has also found fossil specimens of Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus afarensis
, and species of Homo including Homo erectus
, and Homo sapiens. From 2004 through 2007, he has led digs in the Mille
woreda
of the Afar Region
of Ethiopia (the Woranso-Mille Project). In June, 2010, Haile-Selassie published a paper describing Kadanuumuu
, one of the specimens his group found in Afar.
The research conducted by Yohannes has been primarily funded by the Leakey Foundation. He has published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology
.
Adigrat
Adigrat is a city in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and latitude with an elevation of 2457 meters above sea level, below a high ridge to the west, Adigrat is the last important Ethiopian city south of the border with Eritrea, and is considered to be a...
, 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...
, February 23, 1961) is an Ethiopian paleoanthropologist
Paleoanthropology
Paleoanthropology, which combines the disciplines of paleontology and physical anthropology, is the study of ancient humans as found in fossil hominid evidence such as petrifacted bones and footprints.-19th century:...
. An authority on pre-Homo sapiens hominids, he particularly focuses his attention on the Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
and 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...
Valleys of East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
.
He began his education at Addis Ababa University
Addis Ababa University
Addis Ababa University is a university in Ethiopia. It was originally named "University College of Addis Ababa" at its founding, then renamed for the former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I in 1962, receiving its current name in 1975.Although the university has six of its seven campuses within...
in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, graduating in the summer of 1982 with a B.A. degree in history. His first job was at the National Museum of Ethiopia
National Museum of Ethiopia
The National Museum of Ethiopia is the primary museum in Ethiopia. It is located in the nation's capital, Addis Ababa, near the graduate school of Addis Ababa University....
in Addis Ababa.
His graduate education began at The University of California, Berkeley, where he was mentored by Tim White
Tim White (anthropologist)
Tim D. White is an American Paleoanthropologist and Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is most famous for his work on Lucy as Australopithecus afarensis with discoverer Donald Johanson.-Career:White was born in Los Angeles County, California...
and earned an M.A. in Anthropology in 1995 and a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology in 2001. In 2002, he became the Curator and Head of Physical Anthropology
Physical anthropology
Biological anthropology is that branch of anthropology that studies the physical development of the human species. It plays an important part in paleoanthropology and in forensic anthropology...
Department at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum located approximately five miles east of downtown Cleveland, Ohio in University Circle, a 550-acre concentration of educational, cultural and medical institutions...
in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, where he works currently. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Anatomy at Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
.
Yohannes is well known in the field of paleoanthropology for having a gift for fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
spotting, with his first fossil hunting expedition (White's Middle Awash Project) taking place in 1990. He has been instrumental in the discoveries of the type specimen (principal reference fossil) for Australopithecus garhi
Australopithecus garhi
Australopithecus garhi is a gracile australopithecine species whose fossils were discovered in 1996 by a research team led by Ethiopian paleontologist Berhane Asfaw and Tim White, an American paleontologist. The hominin remains are believed to be a human ancestor species and the final missing link...
and Ardipithecus kadabba
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 ....
(both discovered in 1997), and has also found fossil specimens of Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A...
, and species of Homo including Homo erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
, and Homo sapiens. From 2004 through 2007, he has led digs in the Mille
Mille (woreda)
Mille is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. It is named for the Mille River, a tributary of the Awash River, which flows through this woreda...
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...
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....
of Ethiopia (the Woranso-Mille Project). In June, 2010, Haile-Selassie published a paper describing Kadanuumuu
Kadanuumuu
Kadanuumuu is the nickname given a 3.58-million-year-old partial Australopithecus afarensis fossil discovered in the Afar Region of Ethiopia in 2005, by a team led by Yohannes Haile-Selassie, curator of physical anthropology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History...
, one of the specimens his group found in Afar.
The research conducted by Yohannes has been primarily funded by the Leakey Foundation. He has published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
The American Journal of Physical Anthropology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal and the official journal of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists...
.
External links
- Yohannes Haile-Selassie page at Cleveland Museum of Natural History site
- Yohannes Haile-Selassie interview from The Plain Dealer
- Article about Yohannes Haile-Selassie from The Plain Dealer
- Article about discovery of hominid remains (July 2007)