| Hannah Morris | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Fields: | Anthropology Paleoethnobotany |
| Workplaces: | University of Georgia |
| Education: | |
| Doctoral Advisor: | Elizabeth King |
| Known For: | Discovery of Homo naledi[1] |
Hannah Morris is an American anthropologist, known for her contribution to the Rising Star Expedition as one of the six women Underground Astronauts.[2] She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia, studying"the implications of human actions on vegetative ecosystems".
Morris attended the University of Georgia, earning a B.A. in anthropology in 2007.[3] She participated in archaeological projects in the United States and Mexico, before returning to her studies at Ohio State University, earning an M.A. in anthropology in 2012 with a special focus in paleoethnobotany.[4]
In October 2013, Morris, Becca Peixotto, Marina Elliot, Alia Gurtov, K. Lindsay Eaves, and Elen Feuerriegel were chosen to be part of a specialized excavation team for the Rising Star Expedition. The purpose of the twenty-one day expedition, sponsored by The National Geographic Society and the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg was to excavate fossils which had been recently found in a deep cave complex in the Rising 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 professor Lee 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 as Homo 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".