Elen Feuerriegel

Elen Feuerriegel
Nationality Australian
Alma mater
Known for Discovery of Homo naledi
Scientific career
Fields Palaeoanthropology
Institutions University of Washington
Thesis Biomechanics of the Hominoid Shoulder: Entheseal Development and Manual Manipulation (2016)
Doctoral advisor Colin Groves

Elen Feuerriegel is an Australian palaeoanthropologist, known for being one of the "underground astronauts" of the Rising Star Expedition.[1][2][3] She is a researcher at the University of Washington.[4]

Feuerriegel studied anthropology at the University of Queensland (BA, 2011) and the Australian National University (M. Biol. Anth, 2012). She then embarked on a PhD at ANU, under the supervision of Colin Groves, which she completed in 2017.[3][4] Her thesis was on the biomechanics of the hominoid shoulder and its role in tool-making (flint knapping),[5] and included research on Homo naledi fossils from Rising Star Cave.[3]

In 2013, whilst a PhD student, Feuerriegal responded to an advertisement on Facebook calling for "skinny, highly-qualified paleontologists"[1] with caving experience. The advertisement was placed by Lee Berger, who was recruiting a team to recover hominid fossils he had discovered in the difficult-to-access Dinaledi Chamber of Rising Star Cave. Feuerriegal helped excavate the fossils, which were subsequently assigned to a new species of human, Homo naledi. She also studied its upper limb bones.[3]

Selected publications

  • Berger, Lee R.; et al. (2015). "Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa". eLife. 4. doi:10.7554/eLife.09560. ISSN 2050-084X.
  • Feuerriegel, Elen M.; et al. (2017). "The upper limb of Homo naledi". Journal of Human Evolution. 104: 155–173. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.09.013.
  • Hawks, John; et al. "New fossil remains of Homo naledi from the Lesedi Chamber, South Africa". eLife. 6. doi:10.7554/eLife.24232. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 5423776. PMID 28483039.

References

  1. 1 2 "Meet the six female 'underground astronauts' who recovered our newest relative". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  2. ↑ Back, Alexandra (2015-09-21). "Homo naledi discovery: How ANU student Elen Feuerriegel joined the Rising Star expedition". Canberra Times. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Weule, Genelle (2017-08-26). "The 'underground astronaut' and her search for ancient bones". ABC News. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  4. 1 2 "Elen Feuerriegel". Department of Anthropology. University of Washington. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  5. ↑ Wragg Sykes, Becky. "Elen Feuerriegel". TrowelBlazers. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.