Paleoproteomics in Paleoanthropology

The diversity and variation of Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene species of early humans in southern Africa has been characterized based on the fossil evidence alone – until recently, with the emergence of paleoproteomics, the study of ancient proteins.

Dr. Palesa Madupe, postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, will present recent paleoproteomic research based on dental enamel proteins extracted from specimens of Homo naledi, Paranthropus robustus, and Australopithecus africanus.

Moderator: Dr. Briana Pobiner, paleoanthropologist and educator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

This program is part of the ongoing HOT (Human Origins Today) Topics series and will be presented as a Zoom video webinar. A link will be emailed to all registrants.

Image caption: SK-48, a Paranthropus robustus fossil from Swartkrans, South Africa

Image credit: Smithsonian Human Origins Program