 The original fossils were returned to Ethiopia in 2013, and subsequent exhibitions have used casts.French geologist and paleoanthropologist Maurice Taieb discovered the Hadar Formation for paleoanthropology in 1970 in the Afar Triangle of Ethiopia in Hararghe region; he recognized its potential as a likely repository of the fossils and artifacts of human origins.Taieb formed the International Afar Research Expedition (IARE) and invited three prominent international scientists to conduct research expeditions into the region.