The Leakey Foundation

The Shaft Scene at Lascaux (A dying bison charging at a man with a bird’s head.)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

1:00 PM at The Field Museum of Chicago

NOTE: Tickets are free with museum admission. Seating is limited. Tickets to this event may not be reserved online. Please call Margaret Neely at (312)665-7141 or e-mail her by May 9th.

Dr. Jean Clottes

Lascaux is the best-known painted cave in the world. It is famous for the spectacular character of its images that cover the extensive walls of the deep cave, particularly of the main chamber where many ceremonies must have taken place. Dating from the same period, and also in the Dordogne region, is a lesser-known cave called Gabillou. The body of surviving work at Gabillou, though dominated by engravings, shares many characteristics with Lascaux. Dr. Clottes will reveal the mysteries of these masterpieces created thousands of years ago.

The eminent French prehistorian Dr. Jean Clottes, is an internationally acclaimed expert on painted cave art whose research interests include not only matters of archaeological context and dating but also problems of epistemology and meaning.

Dr. Clottes is the former director of prehistoric antiquities for the Midi-Pyrénées region of France; once served as scientific advisor on prehistoric art to the French Ministry of Culture; and was the former chairman of UNESCO’s International Committee of Rock Art. He has been involved in a number of projects to present rock paintings to the general public, including as primary advisor for The Field Museum’s current exhibition on Lascaux:  Scenes from the Stone Age: The Cave Paintings of Lascaux.

Dr. Clottes’ public lecture will be the keynote for an academic symposium entitled Caves, Science, and Art at the Dawn of Humanity.

The symposium is sponsored by the Cultural Service and the French Office for Science and Technology at the Consulate General of France in Chicago. We’d like to thank them, along with The Field Museum, and our national sponsor, Wells Fargo Bank.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

7:30 PM at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California

NOTE:This lecture will take place during Night Life; you must be 21 or older to attend.

Dr. Michael Platt
Professor and Director Duke University Institute for Brain Science
Director, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University

Innovation is critical for both individual and evolutionary success, but creative disruption requires taking risks. New research marrying the theory and methods of economics to cutting-edge neuroscience techniques—an emerging field known as NeuroEconomics—is making new discoveries about the biological processes that motivate us to take risks and create new solutions to unforeseen challenges. Dr. Platt will describe how the brain overcomes uncertainty to explore novel alternatives and create new knowledge.

Parallel findings from humans, monkeys, rodents, and worms indicate that a common suite of underlying mechanisms has evolved to control the desire to explore. At one extreme, neuropsychiatric disorders like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and addiction, may arise from dysfunctional control of exploration. At the other, uniquely human faculties of creativity and technological innovation may reflect elaboration of this shared biological heritage controlling our desire to explore.

$12 Seniors, Leakey Foundation and Academy Members, $15 General Public
Tickets may be purchased online, through the California Academy Box Office

Michael Platt is a Duke University professor of neurobiology, evolutionary anthropology, psychology and neuroscience. He is also director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences (DIBS) and Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke. He investigates the brain mechanisms responsible for decision-making and social cognition, using a variety of behavioral, neurophysiological, neuroimaging, pharmacological and genetic techniques. Platt holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. He came to Duke in 2000 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience at New York University, and receiving his undergraduate degree at Yale University.

This Leakey Foundation Annual Speaker Series on Human Origins event is sponsored with generous support from The California Academy of Sciences and our national sponsor, Wells Fargo Bank.

Mary Leakey was one of the world’s most renowned paleoanthropologists, who significantly contributed to our understanding of human evolution.

February 6th marks the 100th anniversary of Mary’s birthday and we are celebrating with a special offer! Donate $100 to the Foundation between now and February 8th to receive a special thank-you gift:

Leakey Foundation Silver Valet Key Ring.

Honor Mary on her 100th birthday with a $100 donation!

Even Google is celebrating her with an illustration depicting her field work on the Laetoli footprints.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

1:00 pm at The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois

Why do both humans and monkeys from different regions vary anatomically and physiologically? Why do we find more monkey species and human cultures in the tropics than outside of the tropics? Why did California have many more Native American cultures than Illinois? Can what we know of monkeys answer this question? If distant islands are more difficult to get to, why do we not find fewer monkey species or human cultures on more remote islands? Are humans merely monkeys?

Since Charles Darwin’s 1859 publication of On the Origins of the Species, questions of distribution have fascinated scientists and anthropologists alike. Dr. Harcourt will discuss the principles underlying the distribution, abundance, and appearance of animals which can also explain human biological diversity, global distribution, and cultural variation. He will shed light on the rich and complex ways in which our anatomy, physiology, and cultural diversity vary from region to region.

Dr. Alexander Harcourt

Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of California at Davis

Born in Kenya, Dr. Alexander Harcourt received degrees from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. After many years studying the behavior and ecology of gorillas, Prof. Harcourt’s research moved to the evolutionary biology of reproduction, and of cooperation, and now his interests have turned to biogeography, including the biogeography of humans. His field research has taken him to the forests of Uganda, Rwanda, Zaire, and S.E. Nigeria.

Prof. Harcourt serves on the Scientific Executive Committee of The Leakey Foundation.

Say hi, and let us know you are coming on our Facebook event page.

Free with Museum admission. RSVP is recommended; please call 312–665–7400 to reserve your seats.

National Sponsor: Wells Fargo Bank

Local Sponsors: The Field Museum and the Segal Family Foundation.

During the most recent grants cycle, Spring 2012, we received a record number of applications (the highest number in 44 years). The competition was stiff, and the funding decisions were even more difficult than usual. Here is a breakdown of some statistics for the cycle:

We received 111 grant applications, including 3 applications for Franklin Mosher Baldwin Fellowships. Of the 111 applications we received, 41 were in the Behavior category, and 60 were in the Paleoanthropology category, with 7 listed in both Behavior and Paleo.

We funded 27 grants, for a total of $333,004.00. This included:

Click here for a full listing of the grants awarded during this cycle.

Dr. Nina Jablonski, Professor and Head of Anthropology at Penn State

We expose it, cover it, paint it, tattoo it, scar it and pierce it. Skin mediates the most important transactions of our lives, while protecting us, advertising our health, our identity and our individuality. Join Dr. Nina Jablonski, Professor and Head of Anthropology at Penn State, as she explores the unique biological and cultural aspects of human skin and its importance as a key element of human adaptation.

Part of the American Museum of Natural History’s popular SciCafe lecture series. Enjoy cocktails, cutting-edge science, and conversation at this after-hours series, which takes place on the first Wednesday of every month.

Let us know you are coming on our Facebook page!

Wednesday May 2, 2012 @ 6:30 pm
The American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY

Free; please reserve your ticket online now.

Generous support provided by Wells Fargo Bank.

Dr. Ofer Bar-Yosef, professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at Harvard University and Curator of Palaeolithic Archaeology at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

The dispersal routes of modern humans from Africa through Eurasia and into Sahul (Australia and New-Guinea) are partially known from scant isolated fossils, current genetics and ancient DNA studies.

The abundant archaeological evidence to be presented facilitates the recognition of these routes, which are marked by the discarded stone tools found, in rare cases with bone, antler and ivory objects, in sites dated to 55-45,000 years ago.

The process of colonization by the new people resulted in the demise of the local Neanderthals in Europe, western and northern Asia, and the Denisovans in Asia. However, interbreeding between the older and new populations was detected as a low percentage of Neanderthal and Denisovans genes carried by today’s people who occupy the entire vast terrestrial continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts and the islands.

Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 1:00 PM
The Field Museum, Chicago, IL
Free with museum admission; call 312.665.7400 to reserve your seat.
Generous support provided by Wells Fargo Bank.

Dr. Richard Wrangham, Professor at Harvard University and co-director of the Kibale Chimpanzee Project

Ever since Darwin and The Descent of Man, the existence of humans has been attributed to our intelligence and adaptability. Renowned primatologist Richard Wrangham presents a startling alternative: our evolutionary success is the result of cooking. In a groundbreaking theory of our origins, Dr. Wrangham will show that the shift from raw to cooked foods was the key factor in human evolution.

When our ancestors adapted to using fire, humanity began.

Once our hominid ancestors began cooking their food, the human digestive tract shrank and the brain grew. Time once spent chewing tough raw food could be used instead to hunt and to tend camp. Cooking became the basis for pair bonding and marriage, created the household, and even led to a sexual division of labor.

Tracing the contemporary implications of our ancestors’ diets, Dr. Wrangham sheds new light on how we came to be the social, intelligent, and sexual species we are today. A pathbreaking new theory of human evolution, Dr. Wrangham will fascinate anyone interested in our ancient origins or in our modern eating habits.

Dr. Richard Wrangham is the Ruth Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University. He is co-director of the Kibale Chimpanzee Project, the long-term study of chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda. His research culminates in the study of human evolution in which he draws conclusions based on the behavioral ecology of apes. As a graduate student, Dr. Wrangham studied under Robert Hinde and Jane Goodall. He also helped the late Dian Fossey establish her eponymous Gorilla Fund to protect and research the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 @ 6:30pm

Houston Museum of Natural Science

General Admission: $18

HMNS, Leakey Foundation & Harvard Club Members: $12

Please call the Museum Box Office at (713) 639-4629 or reserve your ticket online.

There will be a book signing immediately after the lecture. Reserve your copy of Catching Fire by Dr. Richard Wrangham now.

If you are on Facebook, let us know you are coming on the Facebook event page for this lecture.

Generous support provided by Wells Fargo Bank.

As the festivities of the holidays approach, The Leakey Foundation has much to celebrate. Here are some of the Foundation’s highlights from 2011:

• Funded $762,000 in grants to scientists; an increase of $26,000 over last year’s amount
• Funded six scholars from developing countries through the Baldwin Fellowship Program
• Offered five public lectures across the nation with the Speaker Series on Human Origins
• Provided over 1,000 youth, face-to face learning opportunities in the classroom with leading scientists through the Leakey Learning Expeditions Program
• Received an 80% Efficiency Rating for our 2010 audit, meaning 80% of our annual budget is granted to researchers and used for educational outreach
• Provided emergency funding to a Grantee who was at risk of discontinuing a decades worth of research in Indonesia, due to lack of other institutional funding
• Reached over 113,000 followers on Twitter, and we are #10 on Twitter’s list of top 20 science accounts to follow (above the journal Scientific American (#19)

We were able to accomplish this during a challenging economic climate, because of the ongoing support of our donors. Funding for human origins research is becoming all too scarce, and biological evolution is discounted by 61% of the American population. The Leakey Foundation seeks to preserve grant-funding levels, while continuing educational outreach for adults and youth. Our work has never been more important.

There is no easier way to support science while garnering a tax-deductible donation. With your 2011 end of year contribution, a generous donor has pledged to give one dollar for every two dollars that you give, thus making sure your contribution will go further!

Please click here to donate to The Leakey Foundation. You may give a one-time holiday gift, or give on a monthly basis with an ‘automatic payment’ donation.

Thank you for your generous support!

In these tough economic times, we work hard to maintain our grant funding for scientific research projects. Despite this challenging environment, we have been able to increase our grant funding over the last two years, adding $85,000 overall to our total annual grants given since 2008.

In addition, 80% of our total budget goes to science research and education, making The Leakey Foundation a highly efficient non-profit foundation providing essential support to human origins research.

Our grant offerings are mainly split between Paleoanthropology and Primate Behavior, in addition to research into modern hunter-gatherer groups. Here is a full list of our most recently funded grants.

We also offer Franklin Mosher Baldwin Memorial Fellowships to provide financial assistance for scholars with citizenship in a developing country who wish to obtain an advanced degree from an institution outside the scholar’s home country. The aim of these fellowships is to support young scholars in developing countries rich in archeological evidence of human evolution who may not otherwise have access to research education and training.

Three easy ways you can support the work of The Leakey Foundation:

• - Make a one-time or monthly donation
• - Honor legendary anthropologist Clark Howell by contributing to the F. Clark Howell Endowment Campaign
• - Become a member

A generous donor has pledged to give $1 for every $2 that you donate, ensuring that your contributions will go even farther.

All donations are charitable deductions, and help us directly fund important scientific research into human origins.