Grantee Spotlight: Maria Creighton
Maria Creighton is a PhD candidate at Duke University studying one of the most fundamental questions in social evolution: does having strong social bonds actually make you healthier, or do healthier people simply have more energy to be social?
My grandmother, Mary Leakey
Third-generation paleoanthropologist Louise Leakey reflects on the life and legacy of her grandmother, Mary Leakey.
Grantee Spotlight: Olayemi Ajayi
Olayemi Ajayi is a Leakey Foundation grantee whose research will help us understand how animals respond on a molecular level to environmental change.
Research roundup: February 2026
Each month, we publish a roundup of new human origins research supported by Leakey Foundation grants. This is the science your support makes possible.
Oldest known cremation in Africa poses mystery about Stone Age hunter‑gatherers
An ancient cremation would have been a community spectacle in a place returned to and reignited over many generations. What was behind this unexpected funeral ritual?