BOONE—Dr. Zach Throckmorton will deliver a lecture titled “Meet Homo naledi” at 5 p.m. Nov. 9 in I.G. Greer Auditorium at Appalachian State University. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Throckmorton is an assistant professor of anatomy at Lincoln Memorial University – DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, Tennessee. His website says he is also a paleoanthropologist who studies human anatomical evolution. He wrote one of the first papers on Homo naledi.

The remains of Homo naledi were first discovered and recovered in 2013, deep within a cave in South Africa and all by themselves. Homo naledi is the most recently found extinct member of Homo, our own genus.

Characterized by an unprecedented combination of anatomical features, Homo naledi appears to have been well-adapted to both walking on the ground and climbing. It had a relatively small brain and its hands were well-adapted to making tools.

In his lecture, Throckmorton will illuminate how researchers are studying Homo naledi, their functional anatomy, and the hypotheses about their lives and deaths.

Throckmorton’s lecture is sponsored by four departments within Appalachian’s College of Arts and Sciences: Anthropology, Biology, Geology and Geography and Planning.

About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences is home to 16 academic departments spanning the humanities, social sciences, and the mathematical and natural sciences. The college is dedicated to providing instruction and research essential to the university’s mission and seeks to cultivate the habits of inquiry, learning and service among all its constituents. There are more than 430 faculty members and approximately 5,700 student majors. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing Appalachian’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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