Hannah Morris | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | |
| Known for | Discovery ofHomo naledi[2] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Anthropology Paleoethnobotany |
| Institutions | University of Georgia |
| Doctoral advisor | Elizabeth King[1] |
Hannah Morris is an Americananthropologist, known for her contribution to theRising Star Expedition as one of the six womenUnderground Astronauts.[3] She is currently aPh.D. student in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at theUniversity of Georgia, studying"the implications of human actions on vegetative ecosystems".[1][4]
Morris attended theUniversity of Georgia, earning aB.A. inanthropology in 2007.[1] She participated in archaeological projects in the United States and Mexico, before returning to her studies atOhio State University, earning anM.A. in anthropology in 2012 with a special focus inpaleoethnobotany.[4]
In October 2013, Morris,Becca Peixotto,Marina Elliot,Alia Gurtov, K. Lindsay Eaves, andElen Feuerriegel were chosen to be part of a specialized excavation team for theRising Star Expedition. The purpose of the twenty-one day expedition, sponsored byThe National Geographic Society and theUniversity of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg was to excavate fossils which had been recently found in a deep cave complex in theRising Star Cave System, near Johannesburg,South Africa.[5]
The unique skill set sought for the excavation team by lead scientist and University of the Witwatersrand professorLee Berger were: a "master's degree or higher in palaeontology, archeology or an associated field; caving experience; and the ability to fit through an 18-centimeter (about 7-inch) space. The six scientists were crucial in the successful" excavation of arguably one of the most important fossil finds in human history – a new species referred to asHomo naledi.[6][7]
The six member team, with a support of a team of over sixty scientists, excavated "one of the richest collections of hominin fossils ever discovered—some 1,550 fossil fragments, belonging to at least 15 individual skeletons".[2]