Lost in translation: update from SMNP

Research on wild primates is an amazing process of discovery. The monkeys act out little parts in a cosmic soap opera that serves as the background to your dissertation research. While gelada social interactions form the basis of my research, interchanges with fellow language-using primates provide much need comic relief during my time out here. For example, here is a conversation I attempted to have with my field assistant. He speaks more English than I do Amharic, but that’s really not saying much.

E-”Dinquinesh is bulls of first Ethiopian”
Me-”Bulls?”
E-”Balls of first Ethiopian.”
Me-”Balls of first Ethiopian?”
E-”Ishi” (yes)

Students of human evolution probably get the humor in this conversation. E was remarking about the fossil hominin–Lucy (who is known as “Dinquinesh” in Amarhic, roughly meaning “thou art wonderful”). Lucy was discovered by American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson in Hadar, Ethiopia in 1974. She is a member of an ancient hominin species–Australopithecus afarensis–that lived approximately 3.1 million years ago.Of course, E was trying to tell me, “Dinquinesh is the bones of the first Ethiopian.” I’ll have to try to tell him about Ardipithecus ramidus and Ar. kadabba. It promises to be a very funny conversation in our pseudo-pidgin language.

In other news, fieldwork is going well. Beyond rewriting Ethiopian prehistory, I’ve experience the following highlights in the past month:

1. Ahab and Moby Dick returning to bachelor units after failed attempts to enter one-male units (see last year’s posts).
2. A battle between hamadryas baboons and geladas worthy of pay per view television.
3. Watching a ‘mechanic’ in a small Ethiopian village put our tire back on our field truck. He was wearing a grease-covered jumpsuit and smoking a cigarette as he worked. This qualifies him as a mechanic.

Until next time.