David Lordkipanidze

David Lordkipanidze is a leading anthropolgist and archaeologist, a Professor at Tbilisi State University and the Director General of the Georgian National Museum. He is best known for his discovery of 1.8 million year-old human bones at Dmanisi in Georgia in 2007 which are thought to be the oldest human remains ever discovered outside of Africa, and evidence of a Eurasian precursor to Homo erectus.

Lordkipanidze graduated from the Faculty of Geography at Tbilisi State University in 1985, then went on to attain his PhD at the same institution in 1992. He has since authored over 100 publications on a variety of subjects, from anthropology to paleoecology, hominid evolution and archaeology, and one a number of prestigious awards, including Georgia's Order of Honour in 2000, the Award of the Prince of Monaco in 2001, the French Order of "Palmes Academiques" in 2002 and the French Order of Honour in 2006.

He is a Corresponding Member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. His ground-breaking study of the human fossils at Dmanisi remains ongoing.

Articles and blog posts related to David Lordkipanidze

The Dmanisi Skull on Display at Naturalis, Leiden

by Ann

Bones Found Near Tbilisi Rewrite Human Evolution, With Georgia as “Cradle of the First Europeans”

by MalcolmJ

Fossilised human remains dug up in Georgia are evidence of a hidden chapter in the story of human evolution, according to a leading Georgian archaeologist.