The Discovery and Interpretation of "Kadanuumuu" May 18, 2011

The Discovery and Interpretation of "Kadanuumuu"

Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Curator of Physical Anthropology
Wednesday, May 18, 2011, 7 pm
Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Since the early 1970s, the discovery of "Lucy" and her relatives established Australopithecus afarensis as the earliest known human ancestor, at 3 to 3.4 million years old. The skeletal morphology and size of this species was well understood, largely based on "Lucy's" partial skeleton. The discovery of "Kadanuumuu" at the Woranso-Mille site in Ethiopia changed this. At 400,000 years older than "Lucy," "Kadanuumuu" and his remains represent the oldest partial skeleton assigned to Australopithecus afarensis. Dr. Haile-Selassie will explain what new data "Kadanuumuu" has yielded, showing that advanced human-like walking is older than previously thought.

Members: $8 for adults; $7 for students and seniors
Nonmembers: $10 for adults; $9 for students and seniors