Hominids out of Africa
Dmanisi site director to speak Nov. 8 in Bloomington
Published October 27, 2006
The Stone Age Institute will sponsor its Distinguished Lecture in Human Origin Studies, presented by paleoanthropologist David Lordkipanidze, director of the Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at noon in Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union, IU Bloomington.
 Dmanisi skull and reconstruction
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Lordkipanidze will be speaking about the Dmanisi site, located between the Black and the Caspian seas in eastern Georgia, that has revolutionized ideas about the spread of hominids out of Africa. As the paleoanthropologist directing the Dmanisi excavations, he and his team are providing new fossil discoveries showing surprisingly early occupation of Eurasia by 1.8 million years ago.
Several complete skulls have already been excavated, showing their primitive nature (brains about half the size of modern humans) and a remarkable range of variation among individuals. This site also has produced thousands of fossil animal bones of extinct species and primitive stone tools.
For more information on the research, go to these web sites:
http://www.rolexawards.com/laureates/laureate-82-lordkipanidze.html
http://www.stoneageinstitute.org/c_events.shtml
