Hadar, Ethiopia
Encyclopedia
Hadar is a village in Ethiopia
, on the southern edge of the Afar Triangle
with a latitude and longitude of approximately 11°10′N 40°38′E. The village is known for the nearby archaeological site.
According to Jon Kalb, early maps show caravan routes passing within 10 or 15 kilometers of Hadar but not through it. The British explorer L.M. Nesbitt passed 15 kilometres west of Hadar in 1928.
woreda
, which is part of the Administrative Zone 1
of the Afar Region
. The Central Statistical Agency
has not published an estimate for its 2005 population.
On 4 February 2007, the Afar Regional Cabinet approved the creation of a new woreda, taken from the western part of Mille woreda, with its administrative center to be at Hadar.
. He apparently found Hadar in December 1970, by following one of the tributaries of the Ledi River, which originates in the highlands north of Bati
to empty into the Awash River
. Taeib recovered a number of fossils in the area, and led a party back to Hadar May 1972. In October 1973 the International Afar Research Expedition with 16 people arrived at Hadar and stayed there for two months, during which time the first hominid fossil was found. Based on their findings, they named the sedimentary
geological formation they examined the Hadar Formation, which they dated to between 3.5 and 2.3 million years ago, or to the late Pliocene
epoch.
A member of the 1973 expedition to Hadar, the archeologist Donald Johanson
, returned to Hadar the next year to make the first discovery of the remains of Lucy
, a three million year old fossilised specimen of Australopithecus afarensis
. The name 'Lucy' was inspired by the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
, by The Beatles
, which happened to be playing on the radio at base camp. About thirty years later, another skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis was found in another outcrop of the Hadar Formation across the Awash in Dikika
. The skeleton was a three year old girl and afterwards named "Selam
", which means peace in several Ethiopian languages.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, on the southern edge of the Afar Triangle
Afar Depression
The Afar Triangle is a geological depression that is caused by the Afar Triple Junction which is part of the Great Rift Valley. It overlaps Eritrea, Djibouti and the entire Afar Region of Ethiopia. The Afar Triangle includes the Danakil Depression and the lowest point in Africa, Lake Asal...
with a latitude and longitude of approximately 11°10′N 40°38′E. The village is known for the nearby archaeological site.
According to Jon Kalb, early maps show caravan routes passing within 10 or 15 kilometers of Hadar but not through it. The British explorer L.M. Nesbitt passed 15 kilometres west of Hadar in 1928.
Government
Hadar is located in MilleMille (woreda)
Mille is one of the 29 woredas in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. It is named for the Mille River, a tributary of the Awash River, which flows through this woreda...
woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
, which is part of the Administrative Zone 1
Administrative Zone 1 (Afar)
Administrative Zone 1 is one of five Zones of the Afar Region of Ethiopia. This zone is bordered on the south by Administrative Zone 3, on the southwest by Administrative Zone 5, on the west by the Amhara Region, on the northwest by Administrative Zones 4 and 2, on the north by Eritrea, and on the...
of the Afar Region
Afar Region
Afar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....
. The Central Statistical Agency
Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
has not published an estimate for its 2005 population.
On 4 February 2007, the Afar Regional Cabinet approved the creation of a new woreda, taken from the western part of Mille woreda, with its administrative center to be at Hadar.
Archeological findsite
The first geological explorations of the Hadar area had been done by Maurice TaiebMaurice Taieb
Maurice Taieb, is a French geologist and paleoanthropologist who discovered the Hadar formation, recognised its potential importance to paleoanthropology and founded the International Afar Research Expedition...
. He apparently found Hadar in December 1970, by following one of the tributaries of the Ledi River, which originates in the highlands north of Bati
Bati
Bati may refer to:*Bati , traditional Fijian warriors** The Fiji national rugby league team* The town of Bati, Ethiopia.*Bati * Bathi District, a district of Takeo Province, Cambodia...
to empty into the Awash River
Awash River
The Awash is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometers from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura...
. Taeib recovered a number of fossils in the area, and led a party back to Hadar May 1972. In October 1973 the International Afar Research Expedition with 16 people arrived at Hadar and stayed there for two months, during which time the first hominid fossil was found. Based on their findings, they named the sedimentary
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
geological formation they examined the Hadar Formation, which they dated to between 3.5 and 2.3 million years ago, or to the late Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
epoch.
A member of the 1973 expedition to Hadar, the archeologist Donald Johanson
Donald Johanson
Donald Carl Johanson is an American paleoanthropologist. Along with Maurice Taieb, and Yves Coppens he is known for the discovery of the skeleton of the female hominid australopithecine known as "Lucy", in the Afar Triangle region of Hadar, Ethiopia.-Early years:Johanson was born in Chicago,...
, returned to Hadar the next year to make the first discovery of the remains of Lucy
Lucy (Australopithecus)
Lucy is the common name of AL 288-1, several hundred pieces of bone representing about 40% of the skeleton of an individual Australopithecus afarensis. The specimen was discovered in 1974 at Hadar in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar Depression. Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years...
, a three million year old fossilised specimen of Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A...
. The name 'Lucy' was inspired by the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...
, by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, which happened to be playing on the radio at base camp. About thirty years later, another skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis was found in another outcrop of the Hadar Formation across the Awash in Dikika
Dikika
The Dikika region is an area of the Afar Region of Ethiopia where the hominid fossil named Selam was found...
. The skeleton was a three year old girl and afterwards named "Selam
Selam (Australopithecus)
Selam is the fossilized skull and other skeletal remains of a 3-year-old Australopithecus afarensis female whose bones were first found in Dikika, Ethiopia in 2000 and recovered over the following years. She is often nicknamed Lucy's baby. The remains have been dated at 3.3 mya, approximately...
", which means peace in several Ethiopian languages.