September 29-30 2026: International Workshop PALÆTHIOPS
International Workshop PALÆTHIOPS in Addis-Ababa
The head of PALEVOPRIM lab, Gildas Merceron, is presently participating an international workshop in Addis Ababa titled “Investigating Paleoecosystems & Prehistoric Cultures in Ethiopia”.
This workshop marks the official launch by the CNRS and Ethiopian Heritage Authority (EHA) of the first international research laboratory (IRL) in eastern Africa, PALÆTHIOPS, of which PALEVOPRIM will be a major partner especially through our strong implication into the OGRE (Omo Group Research Expedition) project.
Official launch of the IRL PALÆTHIOPS
The PALÆTHIOPS lab, directed by Jean-Renaud Boisserie (CNRS Ecology & Environment) and Tomas Bedane Getachew (EHA), is dedicated to studying the evolution of Pliocene-Quaternary paleoecosystems in the Lower Omo Valley in comparison with other African sites.
It focuses in particular on the subsistence strategies of human species from the Pliocene to the Holocene, the evolution of megaherbivores, and the biogeographic history of all these organisms.
Creation of the IRL by the CNRS and the Ethiopian Heritage Authority – From left to right: J.-R. Boisserie(director of PALÆTHIOPS), Julien Voituriez (First Counsellor at the French Embassy in Ethiopia), Benoit Hazard (Director of the CNRS Office for Eastern Africa), Eliyas Shikur (Deputy Director of the EHA), Tomas Getachew Bedane (Deputy Director of PALÆTHIOPS), Etagegnehu Asres (Director of the Heritage Research Department at the EHA).