Ella Al-Shamahi is an explorer, paleoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist, writer and stand-up comic.
12 Facts About Ella Al-Shamahi
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Ella Al-Shamahi is the presenter and producer of BBC2's Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors.
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Ella Al-Shamahi is a Trustee of the International Association for the Study of Arabia.
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Ella Al-Shamahi has a degree from Imperial College London and is currently doing a PhD at University College London in the Department of Anthropology.
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Ella Al-Shamahi is a Trustee of the International Association for the Study of Arabia, which promotes research relating to the cultural and natural heritage of the Arabian Peninsula.
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Ella Al-Shamahi was prohibited from travelling to mainland Yemen, as it was a no-fly zone, but found that the island was relatively safe.
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In 2018 Ella Al-Shamahi presented a BBC Two programme, Neanderthals - Meet Your Ancestors, investigating what the Neanderthal species of archaic humans looked like and how they lived in their Ice Age world.
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In 2020 Ella Al-Shamahi presented a Channel 4 documentary Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon investigating various aspects of current and ancient indigenous communities and tribes in the Amazon.
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In 2022 Ella Al-Shamahi presented a Channel 4 documentary Tutankhamun: Secrets of the Tomb.
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In 2019 Ella Al-Shamahi gave a TED talk in which she described her expedition to the Yemeni island of Socotra.
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Ella Al-Shamahi says comedy is her coping strategy and a way to make the more esoteric parts of her work understandable to laypeople.
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Ella Al-Shamahi married at the age of 21 and lived in Surrey; her marriage lasted five years.