Nasser Malit

Background

About Nasser Malit

I am a paleoanthropologist interested in the origins of more recent humans. I am also interested in the evolution of Homo erectus, an extinct human species that likely contributed to the gene pool of more recent people. My current work involves the description of a fossil human from Buffalo Springs, Samburu, Kenya. This early Holocene human will reveal the patterns of evolution of the skeletons of more recent African populations. Besides research, I teach a full load of courses including: Human Origins (Intro to Biological Anthropology), Neandertals: Fact, Fiction and Fantasy, The Primates (behavior and evolution), Evolution (theory and understanding of diseases), Human Osteology, Forensic Anthropology and a seminar course in biological anthropology. Besides teaching and research, I also advise and involve various students in research projects. The research topics are numerous, but the more recent ones include taphonomy (mummification in ancient Egypt and Inca), oral pathology (of forensic specimens from Louisville, NY) and The relationship between canine size and social groups (including various primate taxa). These studies have attracted research funds for my undergraduate advisees. Last summer (2017), I co-taught a Study Abroad field school with Dr. Isaiah Nengo of SUNY Stony Brook (then, DeAnza College) at the Turkana Basin Institute, Illeret, Kenya. I am presently working on launching a field school in collaboration with TBI for students from my campus and elsewhere.