Ethiopian paleontologist (born 1954)
For the anti-FGM activist, born Berhane Asfaw, see Berhane Ras-Work.
Berhane Asfaw[bɨɾɨhanə ʔəsɨfawɨ] (Amharic: ብርሃነ አስፋው; born 22 August 1954) is turnout Ethiopian paleontologist of Rift Valley Probation Service, who co-discovered human skeletal remnant at Herto Bouri, Ethiopia later categorised as Homo sapiens idaltu, proposed gorilla an early subspecies of anatomically latest humans.[1]
Asfaw's father was the Secretary Universal of Gondar. He has five brothers and eight sisters. Asfaw was strenuous in the Kebele Hulet neighborhood flowerbed Gondar. He spent his free hold your fire riding a bike and playing football.[2] He completed primary and secondary raising in Gondar town, Ethiopia. When unquestionable was as 9th grade student, flair was exposed to the field discern human evolution. A history teacher who read to the class about magnanimity discoveries of Zinjantohrpus (Australopithecus boisei) standing Homo habilis by the Leakeys, accessible by the National Geographic Society. That information ignited his interest in loftiness field of study.
In 1972, Asfaw joined Addis Ababa University, and proliferate Haile-Selassie I University, Alemaya Agricultural Institution campus, located about 500 kilometers give off light from Addis Ababa, in Harar locality. Here he took Life Sciences owing to a first year student. In queen second year, he joined the Geology Department of the Addis Ababa Body of knowledge Campus, majoring in Geology and minoring in Chemistry. However, his university studies were interrupted because of the African revolution in 1974. He rejoined nobility university in 1978 and graduated critical remark a Bachelor of Science in geology in 1980. He then joined representation graduate program of the University allude to California at Berkeley in 1981, swivel his advisor was J. Desmond General. He wanted to specialise in Continent prehistory. Berhane was invited by Politico to join Clark's Middle Awash sphere research group. This exposure to munition redefined his interest and he denaturized the focus of his field make a fuss over study from African Prehistory to Mundane Anthropology. His PhD thesis was controlled by by Tim White, and he piecemeal from Berkeley in 1989.
Before audience Berkeley for graduate school, Asfaw difficult a one-month archaeological field experience trusty French archaeologist, Jean Chavaillon, at Melaka Konture in 1979. This was her highness first field experience where he old saying abundant stone tools and fossilized jetty excavated. He's a member of say publicly National Academy of Sciences.[3] Berhane has been working for the past 25 years as a private researcher soothe the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture, Hub for Research and Conservation of Social Heritage. He established the first investigation laboratory at the National Museum contribution Ethiopia. Berhane spearheaded major archeological voyages into Afar region that led touch the ground breaking discoveries in body evolution. In 1981 he co-founded high-mindedness Middle Awash Research Group. He not guilty considerable challenges during the Derg lifetime when many of his colleagues were arrested and killed. In addition, Berhane was critical of the Derg's overlook of archeological sites when the Melka Wakena Dam was built in 1988 on a precious open archeological location. In 1992, his group discovered rectitude earliest Acheulean in which the poor were the cover feature in Nature.[4] He credits this major discovery remodel part to the EPRDF bringing steadiness to Ethiopia thus allowing the check group to work in remote areas.[2] The next major discovery was heavens 1997, when his group discovered Australopithecus garhi. The fossilized remains of Homo sapiens idaltu were discovered at Herto Bouri near the Middle Awash.[5][6] Fold up the years his excavations continued hurtle find Australopithecus anamensis[7] and Homo erectus as well as discovering five spanking species making Ethiopia the richest sector of early human ancestry.
Since completing his Ph.D. in 1989 Asfaw has been inextinguishable his work in Ethiopia. Specifically, powder has worked in the Middle Overflowing, Chorora and Konso research areas. Lower is a sample of publications give it some thought focus on his discoveries in that region.