Hannah Morris
NationalityAmerican
Education
Known forDiscovery of Homo naledi[2]
Scientific career
FieldsAnthropology
Paleoethnobotany
InstitutionsUniversity of Georgia
Doctoral advisorElizabeth King[1]

Hannah Morris is an American anthropologist, known for her contribution to the Rising Star Expedition as one of the six women Underground Astronauts.[3] She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia, studying "the implications of human actions on vegetative ecosystems".[1] [4]

Education

Morris attended the University of Georgia, earning a B.A. in anthropology in 2007.[1] She participated in archaeological projects in the United States and Mexico, before returning to her studies at Ohio State University, earning an M.A. in anthropology in 2012 with a special focus in paleoethnobotany.[4]

Rising Star Expedition

In October 2013, Morris, Becca Peixotto, Marina Elliot, Alia Gurtov, K. Lindsay Eaves, and Elen Feuerriegel were chosen to be part of a specialized excavation team for the Rising Star Expedition. The purpose of the twenty-one day expedition, sponsored by The National Geographic Society and the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg was to excavate fossils which had been recently found in a deep cave complex in the Rising Star Cave System, near Johannesburg, South Africa.[5]

The unique skill set sought for the excavation team by lead scientist and University of the Witwatersrand professor Lee Berger were: a "master's degree or higher in palaeontology, archeology or an associated field; caving experience; and the ability to fit through an 18-centimeter (about 7-inch) space. The six scientists were crucial in the successful" excavation of arguably one of the most important fossil finds in human history – a new species referred to as Homo naledi.[6][7]

The six member team, with a support of a team of over sixty scientists, excavated "one of the richest collections of hominin fossils ever discovered—some 1,550 fossil fragments, belonging to at least 15 individual skeletons".[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Schupska, Stephanie (11 September 2015). "Catch a Rising Star". University of Georgia. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 Yong, Ed (10 September 2015). "6 Tiny Cavers, 15 Odd Skeletons, and 1 Amazing New Species of Ancient Human". The Atlantic. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  3. ↑ Feltman, Rachel. "Meet the six female 'underground astronauts' who recovered our newest relative". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 "The Underground Astronaut". Ohio State University. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  5. ↑ Shreeve, James. "This Face Changes the Human Story. But How?". National Geographic. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  6. ↑ Mathy, MH (13 October 2015). "Shining Light of Discovery". The Clarion. Madison Area Technical College. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  7. ↑ "Ali Gurtov '07 Is One of The Rising Star Expedition's "Underground Astronauts"". Wellesley College. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
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