Michel Brunet

Prof. Michel Brunet is a distinguished paleontologist at the Collège de France, specializing in human evolution. His groundbreaking work includes the discovery of Sahelanthropus tchadensis ('Toumai'), the oldest known hominid fossil (7 million years old), found in Chad in 2002. This discovery reshaped understanding of human origins, showing a critical link near the chimpanzee-human evolutionary split.

Educated at the University of Paris-Sorbonne (Ph.D. 1966) and the University of Poitiers, he transitioned from early research in Afghanistan/Iraq to West Africa due to political instability. His research employs modern genetic methods alongside traditional fieldwork, emphasizing Africa’s role as the 'Cradle of Mankind.'

Honors include the Legion of Honor and the Dan David Prize. His lectures, such as the 2009 Einstein Lecture Dahlem, highlight interdisciplinary approaches to human evolution, integrating fossil evidence with genetic data to trace ancestral migration patterns across continents.