Photo by: Purwo Kuncoro

Blog

10.08.15

From the Field: Rebecca Miller, Belgium

From the Field
Dr. Rebecca Miller (Spring 2015 Grantee), with co-investigators Dr. John Stewart and Dr. Keith Wilkinson, completed this summer’s Leakey Foundation funded field season at the site of Trou Al’Wesse in Belgium. With an enthusiastic and meticulous team of students from the University of Liège, Bournemouth University and Winchester University, as well as two students doing doctoral and Master’s research… more »
10.06.15

Surprising trunk rotational capabilities in chimpanzees

Journal Article
Nathan Thompson is a PhD candidate at Stony Brook University who was awarded a Leakey Foundation research grant in the spring of 2014. He and his team were published in this month’s issue of Nature Communications, and he has been kind enough to provide us a brief summary of the article.  Compared to our great ape relatives, humans possess a long and flexible trunk (the part of the body that includes the… more »
09.18.15

From the Field: Nikki Garret

From the Field
Niki Garrett is a PhD candidate from the University of Minnesota. She was awarded a Leakey Foundation research grant in the fall of 2013 for her project entitled “Compound specific paleoecology of Early Miocene hominoids from East Africa.” Here is a brief description of her research followed by a report from the field. I am interested in the relationship between ecological/climate change… more »
08.31.15

Grantee Spotlight: Amelia Villaseñor

Grantee Spotlight
Amelia Villaseñor was awarded a Leakey Foundation research grant during our spring 2015 cycle for her project entitled “The biogeography and behavioral ecology of hominins in Pliocene Eastern Africa:  A macroecological perspective.” The East Africa rift valley well known as the home to some to some of our most famous hominin ancestors: from Lucy to the Nutcracker man to the Turkana boy.… more »
08.27.15

From the Field: Claudia Wilke

From the Field
Claudia Wilke
Claudia Wilke is a PhD candidate at the University of York in the United Kingdom. She was awarded a Leakey Foundation research grant during our fall 2013 cycle for her project entitled “Are cooperative chimpanzees more communicative (Kibale Forest, Uganda)?” Here she gives us an update on her field season and how her research is progressing. My time at Kibale Chimpanzee Project… more »
08.17.15

Grantee Spotlight: Iulia Badescu

Grantee Spotlight
Iulia Badescu Iulia Badescu is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. She was awarded a Leakey Foundation research grant during our 2015 spring cycle for her project entitled “Investigating the infant nutritional development of wild chimpanzees.” I am investigating the infant nutritional development of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Ngogo, Kibale National… more »
08.14.15

The Rise of Culture and the Fall of Testosterone

Behind the Science, Education
In a paper published in the journal Current Anthropology, a team of researchers funded by The Leakey Foundation explore the biological basis of the technology boom and expansion of culture that happened 50,000 years ago. DURHAM, N.C. — Modern humans appear in the fossil record about 200,000 years ago, but it was only about 50,000 years ago that making art and advanced tools became widespread. A new… more »