The primary objective of this proposal is to resume excavations at a Pliocene site in the central Afar of Ethiopia, the Hadar site. This site is one of the richest hominid sites in the world yielding, among other remains, the famous "Lucy" material which has led to the naming of a new hominid species, Australopithecus afarensis. This site was closed in the early 1980s pending the formulation of new legislation governing excavations. The Institute of Human Origins received permission to resume excavation in 1990 and discovered 15 new hominid specimens. In the field season proposed here, further surveys will be carried out to better characterize the geological context of the site as well as renewing operations at the hominid bearing locale A.L. 333.
