“Uncovering New Stories of the Human Past in South Africa”
John Hawks
Department of Anthropology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Time and Location
12:00pm, 206 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI
Description
Last year we announced the discovery of Homo naledi, a new species of fossil human relatives from the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, South Africa. This presentation reviews the discovery and gives perspective on the process of excavation and discovery of fossils in South Africa.
Bio
Professor Hawks is a paleoanthropologist who studies the genetic relationships and fossil evidence of human origins. He has conducted fieldwork in Asia, Europe and Africa, and currently is engaged in the study of the fossil evidence from the Rising Star cave, South Africa. He is also known for is work advancing open science, including more than a dozen television documentary productions and his popular weblog.