oThe Ledi-Geraru Research Project was begun in 2002. We focused on looking for fossil deposits that would be able to answer questions related to the disappearance of Australopithecus afarensis and the appearance of the genus Homo. 

We surveyed the region since that time (most recently in 2020), and found deposits in the region with sediments aged from 2.95--2.4 Ma, and some deposits that are younger still.

Fossiliferous sediments of that age are fairly rare in the Lower Awash Valley (although you can see some of them in the picture above in which Omar Abdulla is pointing to a tephra that was above some hominin teeth that we found in 2015). 

We have recovered the oldest member of the genus Homo and the earliest Olduwan stone tools on the plant. Other secrets await in these outcrops.

Ramon Arrowsmith

Ramon is a Professor of Geology, in the School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University. Ramon has been with the project since 2002 and his research focusses on the geological framework of the Lower Awash Valley.

Chris Campisano

Chris is an Assistant Professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University. Chris has been with the project since 2005 and his research involves understanding the stratigraphy and tephrastratigraphy of the region. He is also head honcho on the development and maintenance of the fossil database for both the Ledi-Geraru and Hadar Research Projects.

Lars Werdelin

Lars is is a Swedish paleontologist (Professor, Swedish Museum of Natural History) who specializes  in the evolution of mammalian carnivores. He also contrasts African carnivore and hominin evolution. He has been with the project since 2004 and has surveyed for fossils when the going was tough and we walked for miles with no fossils in sight.

Brian Villmoare

Brian is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Department of Anthropology. He has been with the project since 2002. He is a paleoanthropologist and surveys the region for early hominids.

Erin DiMaggio

Erin is a Research Associate at Pennsylvania State University.  She has been with the project since 2008. She is a geologist focused on investigating the tectonics, stratigraphy, and volcanic deposits in the Ledi-Geraru and the Afar Depression, Ethiopia.

David Braun

David is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, George Washington University. He has been with the project since 2012. He is an archaeologist with a particular expertise in stone tools.

David Feary

David is a Research Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Sustainability and Arizona State University. He has been with the project since 2013. He works on sedimentary geology and 3-D modeling of outcrops for the project.

Chelachew Seyoum

Chelachew is a Graduate Student in Anthropology at the School of Evolution and Social change at Arizona State University.  He has been with the project since 2012. He surveys for early hominin remains, and his research involves isotopic analysis. He also found LD 350-1, a mandible of the genus Homo, dated to 2.8 Ma.

John Rowan

John is a Graduate Student in Anthropology at the School of Evolution and Social change at Arizona State University. He has been with the project since 2013. He is a paleontologist that surveys the outcrops, and has an analytical emphasis on artiodactyls (especially antelope).

Dominique Garello

 Dom is a Graduate Student in Anthropology at the School Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. She has been with the project since 2013. Dom works on mapping and sedimentology in various drainages, especially the Markaytoli.

Irene Smail

Irene is a Graduate Student in Anthropology at the School of Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. Irene has been with the project since 2015. Irene surveys for fossils in the field, and is very good at finding small fossils! Her research  interests focus on cercopithecid primates.

Ellis Locke

Ellis is a Graduate Student in Anthropology at the School of Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. He has been with the project since 2015. Ellis sruverys for fossils in the field, and is also good at finding small fossils. He plans on using rodents to predict paleohabitats.

Ignacio Lazagabaster

Nacho is a Graduate Student in Anthropology at the School of Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. He has been with the project since 2015. Nacho surveys for fossils and is very excited when pigs are found as his research focuses on omnivorous mammals such as suids and hominins.

Eric Scott

Eric is Associate Curator of Paleontology at The John D. Cooper Center, Orange County, California. He has been with the project since 2015. He surveys for fossils with an expertise in equids.

Joshua Robinson

Josh is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University.He has been with the project since 2015. Josh has the large job of managing the database in the field as well as searching for fossils. He also is an expert in isotopes and has sampled many of the mammals that were recovered by project members from 2012-2015.