Naomi and colleagues just published the results of study on the co-existence of two mid-Pliocene hominins and how they vary in diet and locomotion. Check out the paper in Nature.
Naomi’s contributions include isotopic data from hominin teeth. The isotopic data show dietary distinctions among hominins that lived in close-proximity to one another and that walked in different ways. It’s exciting that we can use the isotopic data to evaluate hominin behavior in a way that is truly complementary to the information we get from the morphology of the bones and teeth.
Haile-Selassie Y, Schwartz GT, Prang TC, Saylor BZ, Deino AL, Gibert L, Ragni A, Levin NE. 2025. New finds shed light on diet and locomotion in Australopithecus deyiremeda. Nature, doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09714-4.
Nature News and Views by Fred Spoor, Mystery owner of African hominin foot identified. doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03451-4
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News articles about the work that include Naomi’s take on the study and what the isotope data mean.
ASU press release: New research by ASU paleoanthropologists: 2 ancient human ancestors were neighbors — see video of colleague Yohannes Haile-Selassie discussing impacts of work
Reuters article: Scientists solve the mystery of the prehistoric ‘Burtele Foot’