Max-Planck-Institut
Contact
Department of Human Evolution
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
phone: +49 (341) 3550 - 350
fax: +49 (0341) 3550 - 399
e-mail: streiber@[>>> Please remove the brackets! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Stephanie Melillo
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Department of Human Evolution
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
Germany
phone: 0049 (0) 341 3550 865
fax: 0049 (0) 341 3550 399
e-mail: stephanie_melillo@[>>> Please remove the brackets! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Research Interests
Stephanie Melillo is a paleoanthropologist interested in the evolution and adaptation of fossil hominins. One focus of Stephanie’s research is the evolutionary transformation of the shoulder. She is particularly interested in understanding shoulder structure and function in early hominins like Australopithecus afarensis, and in addressing questions about when the unique structure of the modern human shoulder appeared. Stephanie conducted the comparative description of the scapula and clavicle from the Au. afarensis partial skeleton nicknamed “Kadanuumuu”. She is using geometric morphometric methods to improve reconstruction of the shoulder skeleton in combination with musculoskeletal modeling to better understand functional capabilities.
Stephanie is also interested in the paleobiology and systematics of early hominins. Stephanie is co-PI of the Woranso-Mille Paleontological Research Project (Afar region, Ethiopia) with Yohannes Haile-Selassie (since 2019) and has been a project member since 2006. Stephanie is involved in studying the hominin craniodental fossils from Woranso-Mille, which have been particularly important in addressing evolutionary relationships among the early australopiths and taxonomic diversity in the middle Pliocene. The Woranso-Mille team recently announced the first cranium known for the species Australopithecus anamensis.
Curriculum Vitae
Research Interests
- Structure and Function of the hominoid shoulder
- Evolutionary history of early Australopithecus
- Virtual anthropology and geometric morphometrics
Education
| 2011 | Ph.D. Stanford University, Department of Biology Anatomy of the Australopithecus scapula and evolution of the human shoulder: insights from a new fossil specimen, KSD-VP-1/1 |
| 2005 | B.A. Case Western Reserve University, Department of Anthropology Enamel microstructure and crown formation time in the platyrrhine Alouatta palliata |
Academic Positions
| 2013 - present | Postdoctoral fellow, |
| 2012 - 2013 | Visiting Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Anthropology |
| 2012 | Lecturer, California Institute of Technology, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| 2011 | Lecturer, Stanford University, Department of Anthropology |
Fieldwork
| Woranso-Mille Paleontological Research Project (Afar, Ethiopia) | |
| 2019 - present | co-PI with Yohannes Haile-Selassie |
| 2006 - present | project member |
| Paleoanthropological Survey of the Gobaad Basin, Djibouti | |
| 2007 | project member, led by David DeGusta and Sonia Harmand |
| Geological and Paleontological Exploration of the Southern Weyto Basin, Ethiopia | |
| 2005, 2007 | project member, led by David DeGusta |
| Gona Project (Afar, Ethiopia) | |
| 2006 | student participant, led by Sileshi Semaw |
Service
| Departmental and Institutional Service | |
| 2018 - present | Institute Seminar committee |
| 2016 - present | Library acquisitions consultant |
| 2018 | Departmental review committee |
Reviewer
- Journal of Human Evolution
- Journal of Anatomy
- Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series (Springer)
- Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health
Professional Memberships
- European Society for the Study of Human Evolution
- American Association of Physical Anthropologists
- African Rift Valley Research Consortium
PhD Supervision
| 2017 - present | Julia van Beesel Exploring the functional morphology of the ape shoulder through musculoskeletal modeling |
Teaching
| International Max Planck Research School | |
| 2013 | Human Paleontology |
| University of California, Santa Cruz | |
| 2013 | Introduction to Human Evolution |
| 2013 | Human Adaptability |
| 2013 | History and Theory of Physical Anthropology |
| 2012 | Human Skeletal Biology (osteology lab course) |
| 2012 | Human Evolution, upper division (with lab component) |
| California Institute of Technology | |
| 2012 | Primate Behavior |
| 2012 | Introduction to Human Evolution |
| Stanford University | |
| 2011 | Introduction to Biological Anthropology |
| Teaching Assistantships | |
| 2010 | Human Origins |
| 2009 | Faunal Analysis |
| 2008 | Field Seminar in Paleoanthropology |
| 2007 | Ecology |
| 2006 | Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology |
| 2005 | Evolution |
Publications
*Authors contributed equally
Articles
| Melillo, S. M.,Gibert, L., Saylor, B. Z., Deino, A., Alene, M., Ryan, T. M., & Haile-Selassie, Y. (2021). New Pliocene hominin remains from the Leado Dido’a area of Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. Journal of Human Evolution,153: 102956. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
van Beesel, J., Hutchinson, J. R., Hublin, J.-J., & Melillo, S. M. (2021). Exploring the functional morphology of the Gorilla shoulder through musculoskeletal modelling (advance online). Journal of Anatomy.  Open Access DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Haile-Selassie, Y. *., Melillo, S. M. *., Vazzana, A., Benazzi, S., & Ryan, T. M. (2019). A 3.8-million-year-old hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. Nature,573(7773), 214-219. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Saylor, B. Z., Gibert, L., Deino, A., Alene, M., Levin, N. E., Melillo, S. M.,Peaple, M. D., Feakins, S. J., Bourel, B., Barboni, D., Novello, A., Sylvestre, F., Mertzman, S. A., & Haile-Selassie, Y. (2019). Age and context of mid-Pliocene hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. Nature,573(7773), 220-224. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M.,Gunz, P., Coqueugniot, H., Reske, S., & Hublin, J.-J. (2019). Structural effects of variation in the human clavicle. American Journal of Physical Anthropology,168(4), 687-704. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Haile-Selassie, Y., Melillo, S. M.,Ryan, T. M., Levin, N. E., Saylor, B. Z., Deino, A., Mundil, R., Scott, G., Alene, M., & Gibert, L. (2016). Dentognathic remains of Australopithecus afarensis from Nefuraytu (Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia): Comparative description, geology, and paleoecological context. Journal of Human Evolution,100, 35-53. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Haile-Selassie, Y., Melillo, S. M.,& Su, D. F. (2016). The Pliocene hominin diversity conundrum: Do more fossils mean less clarity? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,113(23), 6364-6371. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M. (2015). An alternative interpretation of the Australopithecus scapula. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,112(52): E7159. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Haile-Selassie, Y., Gibert, L., Melillo, S. M.,Ryan, T. M., Alene, M., Deino, A., Levin, N. E., Scott, G., & Saylor, B. Z. (2015). New species from Ethiopia further expands Middle Pliocene hominin diversity. Nature, (521), 483-488. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Haile-Selassie, Y., & Melillo, S. M. (2015). Middle Pliocene hominin mandibular fourth premolars from Woranso-Mille (Central Afar, Ethiopia). Journal of Human Evolution,78, 44-59. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Haile-Selassie, Y., Latimer, B. M., Alene, M., Deino, A. L., Gibert, L., Melillo, S. M.,Saylor, B. Z., Scott, G. R., & Lovejoy, C. O. (2010). An early Australopithecus afarensis postcranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,107(27), 12121-12126. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Geraads, D., Melillo, S. M.,& Haile-Selassie, Y. (2009). Middle Pliocene bovidae from Hominid-bearing sites in the Woranso-Mille area, Afar region, Ethiopia. Palaeontologia Africana,44, 59-70. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Harmand, S., DeGusta, D., Slimak, L., Dohmen, I., Lewis, J., Melillo, S. M.,& Omar, M. (2009). Nouveaux sites paléolithiques anciens en République de Djibouti: Bilan préliminaire de prospections récentes dans le Bassin du Gobaad, Afar central. Comptes Rendus Palevol,8(5), 481-492. DOI BibTeX Endnote |
Book Chapters
| Haile-Selassie, Y., Latimer, B., Lovejoy, C. O., Melillo, S. M.,& Meyer, M. R. (2016). Conclusion: Implications of KSD-VP-1/1 for early hominin paleobiology and insights into the chimpanzee/human last common ancestor. In Y. Haile-Selassie, & D. F. Su ( DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M. (2016). The shoulder girdle of KSD-VP-1/1. In Y. Haile-Selassie, & D. F. Su ( DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Saylor, B. Z., Alene, M., Deino, A., Gibert, L., Haile-Selassie, Y., Melillo, S. M.,& Scott, G. (2016). The geologic context of Korsi Dora and the partial skeleton KSD-VP-1/1. In Y. Haile-Selassie, & D. F. Su ( DOI BibTeX Endnote |
Meeting Abstracts
| van Beesel, J., Hutchinson, J. R., Hublin, J.-J., & Melillo, S. M. (2021). Comparison of shoulder functional morphology between Gorilla and Homo. American Journal of Physical Anthropology,174(S71), 106-107. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M.,Vazzana, A., Benazzi, S., Ryan, T. M., Saylor, B. Z., Gibert, L., Deino, A., Alene, M., Levin, N. E., Peaple, M. D., Feakins, S. J., Bourel, B., Barboni, D., Novello, A., Sylvestre, F., Mertzman, S. A., & Haile-Selassie, Y. (2020). The first cranium of Australopithecus anamensis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology,171(S69), 184-184. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M.,Gunz, P., Coqueugniot, H., Reske, S., & Hublin, J.-J. (2018). Reconstructing the shoulder girdle from skeletal remains. In Proceedings of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (PESHE) (pp. 127). BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M.,& Haile-Selassie, Y. (2017). The Nefuraytu mandible and temporal trends in Australopithecus afarensis. In Proceedings of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (PESHE) (6, pp. 133). Open Access BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M.,Coqueugniot, H., & Hublin, J.-J. (2016). The relationship between clavicle length and scapula position in living humans. American Journal of Physical Anthropology,159(S62), 226-226. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M.,Gunz, P., Coqueugniot, H., Reske, S., & Hublin, J.-J. (2016). Structural effects of human clavicle variation. In 6th Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (ESHE) (pp. 163-163). European Society for the study of Human Evolution (ESHE). BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M. (2012). Anatomical configuration of the Australopithecus afarensis shoulder: Evidence from a new clavicle (KSD-VP-1/1f). American Journal of Physical Anthropology,147(S54), 212-212. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M. (2011). Scapula morphology of Australopithecus afarensis: New insights from KSD-VP-1/1g. PaleoAnthropology, A24-A24. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| DeGusta, D., Harmand, S., Slimak, L., Dohmen, I., Lewis, J., Melillo, S. M.,& Omar, M. (2009). Initial results of a paleoanthropological survey of the Djibouti Afar. PaleoAnthropology, A9-A9. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Fredieu, J. R., Levin, N., Melillo, S. M.,Simpson, S. W., Quade, J., & Semaw, S. (2007). Dietary reconstruction of Early Pliocene bovids from Gona project area, Ethiopia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology,132(S44), 110-110. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Lewis, J. E., DeGusta, D., Melillo, S. M.,Cheng, R., & Brown, P. W. (2007). New data on enamel thickness in Homo sapiens. American Journal of Physical Anthropology,132(S44), 155-155. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M.,& DeGusta, D. (2007). Bovid ecomorphology: A cautionary tale from the Omo. In Paleoanthropology Society Abstracts 2007 Meetings Version (pp. 17-18). PaleoAnthropology Society. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Melillo, S. M.,Simpson, S. W., & DeGusta, D. (2006). A histological analysis of Alouatta palliata dental enamel. American Journal of Physical Anthropology,129(S42), 129-130. DOI BibTeX Endnote |
