Tea Jashashvili

Dr Tea Jashashvili is a biological anthropologist by profession. What that means is that she’s a kind of bone detective: she analyses bones (fossil and otherwise) to learn more about how species evolved within their environments, and how they moved.

An assistant professor of Clinical Integrative Anatomical Sciences at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, Jashashvili is active at various internationally recognised archaeological sites, including Sterkfontein, Swartkrans and Dmanisi in her native Georgia.

Jashashvili decided to pursue biological anthropology after completing her medical degree. She particularly specialises in hands and feet; perhaps fittingly, Sterkfontein’s famous “Little Foot” skeleton is what first piqued her interest in the Cradle of Humankind. But it was a rare type of fossil foot bone – at least, what had been misidentified as one, the medial cuneiform – that drew her to South Africa.

“In general, the medial cuneiform in the hominin fossil record is very rare so finding research articles that noted a medial cuneiform from Swartkrans, increased my interest in both Sterkfontein and Swartkrans. My curiosity doubled when looking at published figures of a medial cuneiform from Swartkrans, and I was not convinced that it was one,” Jashashvili says.

“To satisfy my scientific curiosity, I obtained a permit to study these fossil specimens and went to South Africa. I fell in love with the country and people. The funny thing is that I was right. Unfortunately, the medial cuneiform from Swartkrans was no more than large animal rib fragments, but the rich heritage of hominin fossils impressed me, and I became part of a large Sterkfontein/Swartkrans research team.”

In her work, she uses an array of commercial and industrial imaging technologies to do her sleuthing, which allows her to investigate fossils still encased in excavated material.

“The major part of my Sterkfontein/Swartkrans research is linked to X-ray imaging of fossils. In the early days, before commercial systems were available, most of the fossils were separated by hand using dentist’s instruments or needles. X-ray imaging uncovers the mystery of every fossil still embedded in sediment or breccia – be it the virtual discovery of morphology, or of a new fossil that is not yet visible,” she says.

Of all her colleagues, Jashashvili most appreciates the fossil technicians – the people who painstakingly clean and cast fossils: “Without them, none of our or my work can be possible in Sterkfontein/Swartkrans. I admire their dedication and interest. It is even more gratifying to know that some of them decide to become geologists, archaeologists or palaeontologists, and create research careers inspired by being in the right place at the right time, and want to make their mark on discovering our human evolutionary past.”

For Jashashvili, the story of human evolution is a puzzle, and the Cradle of Humankind is an ideal place to find crucial pieces.

“Even in high school, they teach that evolution is not linear. I am not favouriting evolutionary theories; I am just saying that every small piece that helps complete the puzzle is significant, [and] especially essential when it comes to unravelling the continuous hominin occupation in the same space at different times of our evolutionary history.

“The Cradle of Humankind and its hominin sites are rare cases for learning about habitat change, animal migration and hominin adaptation. It allows us to understand our past, link this past to other geographically distant hominin sites, and write a more precise story about our ancestry,” she says.