Journal Article

05.06.21

Discarded ostrich shells provide timeline for our early African ancestors

Journal Article
Archaeologists have learned a lot about our ancestors by rummaging through their garbage piles. One common kitchen scrap in Africa– shells of ostrich eggs–is now helping unscramble the mystery of when these changes took place, providing a timeline for some of the earliest Homo sapiens who settled down to utilize marine food resources along the South African coast more than 100,000 years ago.
05.05.21

The oldest human burial in Kenya

Journal Article
An international team of researchers has identified the earliest known human burial in Africa at Panga ya Saidi, a cave near the Kenyan coast. The remains of a 2.5 to 3 year-old child were found deliberately buried in a shallow grave directly under the sheltered overhang of the cave. The child was laid carefully on their side, in a curled up position, likely wrapped in a shroud with a pillow under the child's head.
02.24.21

Earliest-known fossil primate discovered in Montana

Journal Article, In the News
A new Leakey Foundation-supported study published Feb. 24 in the journal Royal Society Open Science documents the earliest-known fossil evidence of primates. This discovery illustrates the initial radiation of primates 66 million years ago, following the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs and led to the rise of mammals.
02.02.21

Sleeping by the cycles of the moon

Journal Article
For centuries, humans have blamed the moon for our moods, accidents and even natural disasters. New Leakey Foundation-supported research indicates that our planet's celestial companion impacts something else entirely–our sleep.