Archaeology talk about ‘Lucy’ by Larry Todd on March 19
3.2 million year old Lucy is among the oldest and most complete fossil hominin skeletons discovered
by Upper Green River Basin Chapter of the Wyoming Archaeological Society
March 17, 2019
The Upper Green River Basin Chapter of the Wyoming Archeology Society will be having a meeting next Tuesday, March 19th, at 6:30 pm at the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale. There will be a short business meeting followed by a presentation by Larry Todd. Everyone is welcome. Please invite your friends.
PRESENTATION: "How Lucy died: A taphonomic perspective" by Larry Todd
The Pliocene fossil "Lucy" (Australopithecus afarensis) was discovered in the Afar region of Ethiopia in 1974 and is among the oldest and most complete fossil hominin skeletons discovered. In 2016 a team of researchers using data collected from high resolution CT scans of Lucy’s skeleton suggested that her death was related to a fall from considerable height. This suggested cause of death, which has implications about Australopithecine activities and life styles, prompted additional taphonomic investigation of other fossils from the Hadar region of Afar to assess other possible causes of the breakage observed on Lucy’s bones. Both the research leading to the cause of death interpretation and the subsequent study to evaluate alternatives are discussed. www.elucy.org
Larry Todd (BA, University of Wyoming, MA, PhD, University of New Mexico) is Professor Emeritus in Anthropology at Colorado State University and a Research Fellow in Anthropology at the University of Texas, Austin. A native of Meeteetse, Wyoming, where he now lives, Todd has conducted archaeological fieldwork on the Great Plains for over 45 years with much of his research focusing on taphonomy of bison kill sites. Since 2002, Todd splits his time between researching early human paleoecology in NW Ethiopia and prehistoric montane/alpine landuse in NW Wyoming.
MEMBERSHIP: Dues for 2019 membership are due by end of March. $20/Individual, $25/Family. If you would like to be a member and have not paid yet this year, please bring payment to the March meeting, or print and mail the membership form http://www.sublette.com/was/pdf/Membershipform.pdf along with your dues. Membership dues help support WAS efforts at the state and local level including paying travel for speakers to come here to give great presentations.
|
