Elen Feuerriegel

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Elen Feuerriegel
NationalityAustralian
Alma mater
Known forDiscovery of Homo naledi
Scientific career
FieldsPalaeoanthropology
InstitutionsUniversity of Washington
ThesisBiomechanics of the Hominoid Shoulder: Entheseal Development and Manual Manipulation (2016)
Doctoral advisorColin 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. PMC 4559886. PMID 26354291.
  • 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. PMID 27839696.
  • Hawks, John; et al. (2017). "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. ^ a b "Meet the six female 'underground astronauts' who recovered our newest relative". Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  2. ^ Back, Alexandra (21 September 2015). "Homo naledi discovery: How ANU student Elen Feuerriegel joined the Rising Star expedition". Canberra Times. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Weule, Genelle (26 August 2017). "The 'underground astronaut' and her search for ancient bones". ABC News. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Elen Feuerriegel". Department of Anthropology. University of Washington. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  5. ^ Wragg Sykes, Becky. "Elen Feuerriegel". TrowelBlazers. Retrieved 29 August 2017.

External links[]

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