Author:
Gemma Ware
(MENAFN- The Conversation)
On November 24 1974, renowned American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson spotted“a piece of elbow with humanlike anatomy” poking out of a rocky hillside in northern Ethiopia. It was the first fossil of a partial skeleton belonging to “Lucy” , an ancient female hominin who took the story of human evolution back beyond 3 million years for the first time.
This autumn also marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the “Taung child” , a fossilised skull in South Africa that was key in our understanding that ancient humans first evolved in Africa – something we take now take for granted.
Yet, despite largely centring on the African continent as the“cradle of mankind”, the narrative of hominin fossil discovery is striking for its lack of African scientists. In this week's episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, and in a Q&A for our Insights series , leading Ethiopian paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selaisse explains why the story of ancient human origins is so western-centric, and why this needs to change.
Haile-Selassie says that many of the fossils that made western scientists famous were actually discovered by local Africans, who were only acknowledged at the end of a scientific publication:
Haile-Selassie is now director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University in the US. In the decades after Lucy's discovery, he was responsible for some of the most remarkable ancient human fossil finds in his home country of Ethiopia, including that of Ardipithecus kadabba in 1997. He recalls that memorable moment:
Schoolchildren inspect the fossilised skeleton of Lucy, on display at the National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
Xinhua/Alamy Stock Photo
But Haile-Selassie warns that for research to continue unearthing such important fossils in Ethiopia and across Africa, a major change in the support for African institutions and scientists is needed – in order to“decolonise paleoanthropology”:
Such increased support, he says, could lead to important discoveries in parts of Africa that, to date, have not yielded ancient hominin fossils:
On the other hand, Haile-Selassie warns that lack of western investment in African institutions could lead to restrictions being imposed on future exploration. He suggests countries in Africa may“make their antiquity flows tighter” in terms of who is allowed to research there in future.
Listen to the full episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast to hear an interview with Yohannes Haile-Selaisse by Mike Herd, Insights editor at The Conversation.
This episode of The Conversation Weekly was produced and written by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Sound design was by Michelle Macklem, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl.
You can find us on Instagram at theconversationdotcom or via e-mail . You can also subscribe to The Conversation's free daily e-mail here .
Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here .
MENAFN21112024000199003603ID1108910263
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.