First Nations teens dig into job training

The First Nations Natural Resources Youth Employment Program, run by Outland Camps, were at Lakehead University doing a one day field archaeology experience. Clarence Surette the department technician, Dr Matt Boyd and many graduate and undergraduate students were involved in the day where a copper spear point was recovered from one of the excavation pits.  

More on the story can be found at the links below:

CBC News

tbnewswatch.com

Lakehead Paleoanthropologist helps Identify Homo naledi the latest hominin in Africa

Dr. Matthew Tocheri (Canada Research Chair in Human Origins) from the Department of Anthropology at Lakehead University has been involved in the identification of an extinct human ancestor, Homo naledi, the most recent new hominin species discovered. The remains of 15 individuals were recovered from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, in the region known as the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. Numerous hominin and hominid remains have been discovered in this region of which this is the latest. Dr Tocheri was one member of a large collaborative team aiming to determine the species of these new remains of which they concluded was a new species. This research endeavour extends from his previous involvement in the identification of Homo floresiensis “the Hobbit” discovered from the Liang Bua Cave, Indonesia, being identified as a new species of hominin.

For more information please see the links below:

National Geographic

CNN

 

Matheson receives award

Dr. Carney Matheson, Thunder Bay's chief of the Medical First Response of  St John Ambulance, attends his investiture to the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem on Saturday June 6, 2015 in Toronto. Ontario's Lt-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell presented Dr. Matheson with the title, Serving Member of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The order includes about 6,000 members across Canada and is by invitation only. Dr. Matheson also received his 12-year service medal with the St. John Ambulance organization in Australia and Canada.

Congratulations Dr. Matheson!

Lakehead anthropologists tracing origins of food production in Northern Ontario

Dr. Matthew Boyd and his research team are receiving $381,300 to uncover the most northern evidence of farming in the ancient Americas.

Dr. Boyd, associate professor in Anthropology at Lakehead University, and his team will spend five years tracing the origins of food production (agriculture) in the Boreal Forest by studying historic and ancient garden sites in Lake of the Woods, Ont.

For more Information  - click here

HAMMARSKJOLD STUDENT SELECTED FOR TEAM CANADA

Emily Cross, of Thunder Bay Ontario has been selected as one of the twelve young scientists representing Team Canada at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pittsburgh, May 9-16, 2015. Intel ISEF is the world’s largest pre-college celebration of science, with over 1400 students from nearly 60 nations competing for scholarships, tuition, grants, internships and scientific field trips.
Read more...https://www.lakeheadschools.ca/hammarskjold-team-canada-selection/

Evolutionary Medicine: Does evolution matter to our modern health?

We got to be the way we are thanks to evolution, but what role does evolution play in our health today? If the disconnect between the environment we evolved in and the one we live In today contributes to health issues like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, should you try eating like a cave dweller? How are our actions contributing to evolution in the things that can make us sick, like bacteria, viruses, parasites and even our own cancer cells? And how can understanding our evolutionary past help us make better decisions about our health today?

Dr Tamara Varney, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology participated in the Science Café series of discussions recently in Sudbury. The topic of the discussion in the Science Café was “Evolutionary Medicine: Does evolution matter to our modern health?” held on Tuesday, February 10th at one of the local cafés in Sudbury, the laughing Buddha. These Science café  discussions take leading experts in various fields to form a discussion panel, they hold the event at a relaxed and informal location and open the discussion to the public so that they can interact and be involved in the discussion. For this recent Science Café see the link http://www.northernlife.ca/news/localNews/2015/02/12-science-cafe-evolut...

In the Press....

Lakehead University's Canada Research Chair in Human Origins, Dr. Matt Tocheri, was interviewed by and quoted inScience and Discovery News concerning a new analysis of fossil hand bones from the extinct human species Australopithecus africanus, published this week in the journal Science. The new study used high-resolution CT scans to reveal key details of how these early hominins were using their hands in more human-like ways. Read more at http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2015/01/how-human-ancestors-got-grip and http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/human-like-hands-came-before-actual-humans-150122.htm