The Leakey Foundation

02.13.20

First Ancient DNA from West Africa Illuminates the Deep Human Past

A team of international researchers, with support from The Leakey Foundation, dug deep to find some of the oldest African DNA on record, in a new study published in Nature.

01.20.20

Monkeys Smashing Nuts Hint at How Human Tool Use Evolved

Human beings used to be defined as “the tool-maker” species. But the uniqueness of this description was challenged in the 1960s when Dr. Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees will pick and modify grass stems to use to collect termites. Her observations called into question homo sapiens‘ very place in the world. Since then scientists’ knowledge of animal tool use has expanded exponentially.

01.06.20

Chimpanzees more likely to share tools, teach skills when task is complex

Journal Article

Teach a chimpanzee to fish for insects to eat, and you feed her for a lifetime. Teach her a better way to use tools in gathering prey, and you may change the course of evolution.

12.12.19

Indonesian Cave Paintings Show the Dawn of Imaginative Art

Journal Article

By Adam Brumm, Griffith University; Adhi Oktaviana, Griffith University, and Maxime Aubert, Griffith University Our team has discovered a cave painting in Indonesia that is at least 44,000 years old and which may cast new light on the beginnings of modern religious culture. This ancient painting from the island of Sulawesi consists of a scene portraying part-human, part-animal figures hunting wild… more »

11.15.19

Global Climate Change Concerns for Africa’s Lake Victoria

Journal Article

Global climate change could cause Africa’s Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake and source of the Nile River, to dry up in the next 500 years, according to new findings funded in part by The Leakey Foundation. Even more imminent, the White Nile — one of the two main tributaries of the Nile — could lose its source waters in just a decade.