David Otaris dze Lordkipanidze ( ka, დავით ლორთქიფანიძე; born 5 August 1964, in Tbilisi) is a Georgian

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, Professor (2004), Dr.Sc. (2002), Corresponding Member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences (2009), and since 2004 the General Director of the Georgian National Museum (GNM). He is a son of the archaeologist

Otar Lordkipanidze Otar Lordkipanidze ( ka, ოთარ ლორთქიფანიძე) (October 30, 1930 – May 19, 2002) was a Georgian archaeologist best known for his studies of the ancient sites of Colchis and Iberia and the presence of the Achaemenid cu ...

. David Lordkipanidze is best known for his discovery of the hominin fossil, first named '' Homo georgicus'', but later reclassified as ''

Homo erectus ''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor' ...

''. Conducting excavation at Dmanisi in Georgia, he found skulls of an early hominin thought to be a precursor of

. Subsequently, four fossil skeletons were found, showing a species still with primitive features in its skull and upper body but with relatively advanced spines and lower limbs, providing greater mobility. They represent a stage soon after the transition from

Homo habilis ''Homo habilis'' ("handy man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Early Pleistocene of East and South Africa about 2.31 million years ago to 1.65 million years ago (mya). Upon species description in 1964, ''H. habilis'' was highly ...

, and have been dated at 1.8 million years before the present. Lordkipanidze has received many awards, including the Georgia's Order of Honour (2000), Award of the Prince of Monaco (2001), the French Order of "Palmes Academiques" (2002), the

Rolex Award for Enterprise Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...

(2004), the French Order of Honour (2006) and the Goethe Medal (2016). He was appointed Director General of the Georgian National Museum (GNM) in 2004. In 2007 he became both a Foreign Member of the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and a Fellow of the

World Academy of Art and Science The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries. It serves as a forum for s ...

(U.S.).

References

External links

Georgian National Museum (GNM)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lordkipanidze, David Anthropologists from Georgia (country) 1963 births Living people Archaeologists from Tbilisi Academic staff of Tbilisi State University Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Tbilisi State University alumni