Juliette Z煤帽iga ’28 with her discovery.By Caitlin Antonios听听
In the final glimmer of daylight roughly 7,000 miles from Claremont, at an archaeological site in Orozmani, Republic of Georgia, Juliette Z煤帽iga 鈥�28 was crouched in the dirt looking for bones. It鈥檚 something she had spent the past month doing, and by that point it was routine鈥攗ntil she brushed off a piece of sediment and saw a tooth.听听
It ended up belonging to a human鈥攐r more accurately, a hominid, which includes modern humans and evolutionary ancestors. The tooth was connected to a jaw and a landmark discovery of one of the oldest hominid remains found outside Africa.
The summer before her sophomore year, Z煤帽iga was on a mission. As a child, her parents encouraged her natural interest in paleontology by watching documentaries together as a family. Her high school years prompted a shift from dinosaurs and the prehistoric era to human evolution.听听
鈥淚 really enjoyed the history class I was taking, and human history specifically connected my interest in paleontology from when I was a kid,鈥� Z煤帽iga says. 听
After arriving at Scripps, she took an anthropology class with Professor Sheryl Miller at Pitzer College, which only further confirmed that she wanted to go into the field and the importance of getting hands-on experience.
As the summer approached, Z煤帽iga looked for opportunities through the Archaeological Institute of America and found a field school in Orozmani. For the month she was there, most of her days consisted of digging from early morning, a short lunchbreak on site, then getting back to digging. In the evenings, after dinner, the cohort would have some free time or listen to lectures. 听听
鈥淲e stayed in a house that was rented by the program,鈥� Z煤帽iga says. 鈥淚t was probably two and a half hours from Tbilisi, and five minutes from the site.鈥� 听
Near the end of her time with the program, Z煤帽iga found the hominid remains that have made headlines.听听
The hominid bone found by Juliette Z煤帽iga ’28.鈥淚 knew it was a tooth immediately because the enamel is shinier than other parts of the bone,鈥� Z煤帽iga explains. 鈥淚t looked like a molar, but I didn鈥檛 assume that it was human.鈥� 听
The site has produced plenty of animal bones since archeologists began working there, but this discovery provides further insight into mankind’s origins.听听
鈥淚 was excited, but I was also nervous because I knew it was a big deal,鈥� Z煤帽iga says. 鈥淚 was very grateful to have that opportunity and give back to the school. The site doesn鈥檛 get a lot of funding, so I was very happy to be able to show them that this site is worth it.鈥澨�听
The team worked almost through the night to fully uncover the jaw for preservation. While the fragment is still undergoing testing, the surrounding rock layers indicate it鈥檚 roughly 1.8 million years old. Their discovery will help scientists learn more about our ancestors and gain insight on details of the person鈥檚 life. 听听
Now back at Scripps, Z煤帽iga says the experience she gained abroad has solidified her career ambitions. 听
鈥淭he program definitely influenced my future coursework and the importance of having a wide range of knowledge, like knowing what鈥檚 going on geologically with a site and the microbiology,鈥� Z煤帽iga says. 鈥淚鈥檓 planning to take some courses outside my major that will help me in the future.鈥� 听