Dr. David J. Green

Biography

Dr. David Green received his BA in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy from Duke University and his PhD in Hominid Paleobiology from The George Washington University. Prior to joining CUSOM in 2018, Dr. Green was a member of the Department of Anatomy at Midwestern University (Downers Grove, IL) with appointments and teaching responsibilities in the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Dental Medicine-Illinois, College of Health Sciences, and the Chicago College of Optometry.

Dr. Green studies the evolution and comparative anatomy of the hominoid (humans and apes) shoulder. He has compiled an extensive developmental comparative morphometric dataset from over 1,200 living hominoid scapulae (shoulder blades) collected from various museums throughout the US, UK, and Africa. This work incorporates both traditional and three-dimensional morphometric approaches to better understand shape variation among living taxa. Currently, he is compiling 3D scan data of clavicles for a new project seeking to better understand the ontogeny of shoulder girdle shape and orientation.

Dr. Green has also investigated the transition to dedicated bipedal locomotion in the hominin lineage by evaluating the evidence for climbing adaptations in the upper extremity of early hominin taxa. This work has considered several members of the genus Australopithecus (including the famous “Lucy” skeleton) and early representatives of the genus Homo. More recently, he has been involved in the description and analysis of new hominin fossils, including the nearly complete Australopithecus afarensis child from Dikika, Ethiopia, which preserves both complete scapulae, as well as new discoveries from Koobi Fora, Kenya, and the cave sites Malapa, Rising Star, and Sterkfontein in South Africa.