Assefa, Zelalem
Currently, Zelalem Assefa is a Research Associate in the Human Origins and Archaeobiology Programs at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). His primary research contributions have been in the field of zooarchaeology, specifically in attempting to detect cultural variability in the use of faunal resources through time and across variable ecological conditions. At the Smithsonian Institution, Zelalem have been in positions of Post-doctoral fellow, Contractor, and Research Collaborator since 2004. During his post-doctoral tenure at the Smithsonian, he developed a digital reference archive of the dentitions of East African mammals (http://humanorigins.si.edu/research/digital-archive-ungulate-and-carnivore-dentition), which involved rigorous data collection and processing as well as professional handling of vertebrate collections. Zelalem have had extensive experience participating and directing various field projects in Ethiopia, including co-directing the Omo-Kibish field project in southwestern Ethiopia. Since 2007, Zelalem has been directing a multi-disciplinary project with a focus on identifying cave sites with evidence of Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) occupations within the extensive limestone deposits in southeastern Ethiopia. This project has resulted in discovering important sites in the region, such as the MSA/LSA site Goda-Buticha. Zelalem’s research contributions also include the use of the techniques of geospatial information science in the analysis and documentation of archaeological sites and findings.
Positions
- Research Associate, National Museum of Natural History
Geographic Focus
- Eastern Africa Geographic Region
- Ethiopia County
Background And Education
Education And Training
- University of Maryland, College Park , Department of Geography, Master of Professional Studies
- Ph.D. in Anthropology, State University of New York, Stony Brook , Anthropology
Professional Biography
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Academic Fieldwork
- 2011: Project Director. Leading an international team of researchers carried an excavation at the prehistoric cave site called Goda-Buticha.
- 2007/2008: Project Director. Conducted exploration of cave deposits in southeastern Ethiopia.
- 1998-2001: Kibish paleoanthropological project (Co-director). Surveyed and studied vertebrate faunal deposits at the site of the earliest known fossils of anatomically modern humans.
- 1999: Hadar project. Excavated Locality 666, which yielded the earliest association of faunal, archaeological, and hominin remains.
- 1998: Porc-Epic project, southeastern Ethiopia (Co-director).
- 1992-1993: Hadar project. Representative of the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture.
- 1991-1992: Middle Awash project. Representative of the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture.
- 1992: Koobi Fora, Kenya. Field school training.
- 1991: Fejij project. Representative of the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture.
- 1990: Ethnographic research in southern Ethiopia (Gemo-Gofa, Sidamo).
- 1987-1989: Exploration of proto-historical sites in northern Ethiopia (Shewa).
Publications
Selected Publications
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Article
- Stoetzel, Emmanuelle, Sime, Workalemahu Bekele, Pleurdeau, David, Asrat, Asfawossen, Assefa, Zelalem, Desclaux, Emmanuel, and Denys, Christiane. 2018. "Preliminary study of the rodent assemblages of Goda Buticha: New insights on Late Quaternary environmental and cultural changes in southeastern Ethiopia." Quaternary International, 471, (Part A) 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2017.08.050. 2018
- Tribolo, Chantal, Asrat, Asfawossen, Bahain, Jean-Jacques, Chapon, Cé, Douville, Eric, Fragnol, Carole, Hernandez, Marion, Hovers, Erella, Leplongeon, Alice, Martin, Loïc, Pleurdeau, David, Pearson, Osbjorn, Puaud, Simon, and Assefa, Zelalem. 2017. "Across the Gap: Geochronological and Sedimentological Analyses from the Late Pleistocene-Holocene Sequence of Goda Buticha, Southeastern Ethiopia." PLOS ONE, 12, (1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169418. 2017
- Tocheri, Matthew W., Dommain, René, Mcfarlin, Shannon C., Burnett, Scott E., Troy Case, D., Orr, Caley M., Roach, Neil T., Villmoare, Brian, Eriksen, Amandine B., Kalthoff, Daniela C., Senck, Sascha, Assefa, Zelalem, Groves, Colin P., and Jungers, William L. 2016. "The evolutionary origin and population history of the grauer gorilla." American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 159, (Supplement S61) 4–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22900. 2016
- Pleurdeau, David, Hovers, Erella, Assefa, Zelalem, Asrat, Asfawossen, Pearson, Osbjorn, Bahain, Jean-Jacques, and Lam, Yin Man. 2014. "Cultural change or continuity in the late MSA/Early LSA of southeastern Ethiopia? The site of Goda Buticha, Dire Dawa area." Quaternary International, 343 117–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.02.001. 2014
- Assefa, Zelalem, Pleurdeau, David, Duquesnoy, Frederique, Hovers, Erella, Pearson, Osbjorn, Asrat, Asfawossen, T/Tsion, Constantinos, and Lam, Yin Man. 2014. "Survey and explorations of caves in southeastern Ethiopia: Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age archaeology and Holocene rock art." Quaternary International, 343 136–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.07.132. 2014
- Fleagle, John G., Assefa, Zelalem, Brown, Francis H., and Shea, John J. 2008. "Paleoanthropology of the Kibish Formation, southern Ethiopia: Introduction." Journal of Human Evolution, 55, (3) 360–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.05.007. 2008
- Assefa, Zelalem, Lam, Y. M., and Mienis, Henk K. 2008. "Symbolic Use of Terrestrial Gastropod Opercula during the Middle Stone Age at Porc‐Epic Cave, Ethiopia." Current anthropology, 49, (4) 746–756. https://doi.org/10.1086/589509. 2008
- Assefa, Zelalem, Yirga, Solomon, and Reed, Kaye E. 2008. "The large-mammal fauna from the Kibish Formation." Journal of Human Evolution, 55, (3) 501–512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.05.015. 2008
Affiliation
Member Of
Contact
Location
- National Museum of Natural History Academic Department
