Turbulent environment set the stage for leaps in human evolution and technology 320,000 years ago
People thrive all across the globe, at every temperature, altitude and landscape. How did human beings become so successful at adapting to whatever environment we wind up in? Human origins researchers like me are interested in how this quintessential human trait, adaptability, evolved.
Dozens of Non-Human Primate Species Are Vulnerable to COVID-19
Dozens of non-human primate species, including our closest relatives, are at risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and are vulnerable to COVID-19, which could have devastating impacts on populations of primates that are already endangered.
Humans of Anthropology
Science is a collaborative endeavor and long-term projects require the work of multiple generations of researchers. At the 2019 meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, The Leakey Foundation set out to document the academic "families" of biological anthropology. All of the portraits are now available on our website.
Questions and Answers About Alesi
Research findings on 'Alesi,' a newly discovered 13 million-year-old fossil ape species, were published this week in the journal Nature and the story has been widely carried in the press. The research team behind the Nyanzapithecus alesi discovery has collaborated to put together this list of questions and answers.
The Rise of Culture and the Fall of Testosterone
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