Name: Alesi: The Life, Death, and Discovery of an Ancestor
Start: 2017-10-13T01:00:00+00:00
End: 2017-10-13T02:30:00+00:00
Location: Walter Payton College Prep High School

Discovery site at Napudet, west of Lake Turkana, Kenya © Isaiah Nengo

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Alesi: The Life, Death, and Discovery of an Ancestor

Speaker(s): Isaiah Nengo

Chicago, IL

October 12 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Free

Nyanzapithecus alesi © Fred Spoor

The recent discovery of a 13 million-year-old fossil infant ape skull has offered a rare glimpse of what the common ancestor of all living apes and humans may have looked like. The fossil, nicknamed “Alesi,” belongs to a newly named species called Nyanzapithecus alesi. Alesi was discovered in a desolate region of Kenya by John Ekusi, a member of Dr. Isaiah Nengo’s research team. In this talk, Dr. Nengo will share the story of finding this rare fossil and discuss the secrets that cutting-edge technology has uncovered about the life of this ancient infant.

Presented by The Leakey Foundation and the Chicago Council on Science and Technology

With generous support from:
Camilla and George Smith
Ann and Gordon Getty

Check out our Origin Stories podcast episode featuring Isaiah Nengo!

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Details

Date:: October 12
Time:: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Cost:: Free
Event Category:: Speaker Series
Event Tags:: Alesi, archaeology, evolution, fossil, grantee, in the news, Kenya, Leakey Foundation Research Grants, paleoanthropology
Website:: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alesi-the-life-death-and-discovery-of-an-ancestor-tickets-37892899683

Organizer

: The Leakey Foundation

Venue

Walter Payton College Prep High School

1034 N. Wells St.
Chicago, IL 60610 United States + Google Map

Isaiah Nengo

Dr. Isaiah Nengo was born in Nairobi, Kenya. He is an associate director and research professor at the Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University. He holds a BS in Zoology and Botany from the University of Nairobi and a PhD in Biological Anthropology from Harvard University. He was Fulbright Scholar at the National Museums of Kenya and the University of Nairobi in 2012/13. Dr. Nengo’s research focuses on the search for the ancestors of apes and humans in Africa. He is the recipient of five Leakey Foundation Research Grants.

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