Ellen Miller

Ellen Miller is a Professor of Anthropology at Wake Forest University, specializing in biological anthropology and paleoanthropology. She focuses on the fossil evidence for primate and human evolution, with active fieldwork in the Turkana Basin of northern Kenya. Her research delves into the divergence of apes and Old World monkeys, the transition from archaic to modern African faunas, and the primate context of human lineage evolution.

Education: She earned her Ph.D. from Washington University in biological anthropology.

Research Focus: Her work centers on Miocene deposits in the Turkana Basin, exploring the evolution of early primates and apes. Recent studies include analyzing C4 grasses and their impact on early ape habitats, challenging the paradigm of ape evolution in closed forest environments.

Publications: Her recent articles highlight fossil evidence and ecological shifts in the Early Miocene, contributing to a revised understanding of primate evolution in Africa.

Collaborations: She is a key member of the REACHE (Research on Eastern African Catarrhine and Hominoid Evolution) project, funded by the National Science Foundation, collaborating with institutions like Baylor University and the University of Minnesota.

Fieldwork: Active excavations at Buluk and other sites in Kenya, using multidisciplinary approaches including geology, isotopes, and phytoliths to reconstruct ancient ecosystems.