Read about the latest human origins discoveries, Leakey Foundation-supported research, and news from the field.
Golden lion tamarin habitat restoration, hope, and survival
Survival
Learn how science and collaboration are helping ensure the golden lion tamarin’s survival.
1.5 million-year-old bone tools discovered in Tanzania shed new light on human evolution
Archaeology | Human Origins
Researchers have discovered 1.5 million-year-old tools made from the bones of large animals such as hippos and elephants.
Stone tools reveal human adaptability
Archaeology
Stone tools in El Aliya Cave in Morocco provide evidence that ancient hunter-gatherers in North Africa had flexible subsistence strategies.
Understanding evolutionary mismatch with Audrey Arner
Grantee Spotlight
Why do rates of diabetes surge when traditional societies urbanize? The answer may lie in a concept called the “evolutionary mismatch hypothesis.”
Vanderbilt University PhD candidate Audrey Arner is investigating this phenomenon with support from The Leakey Foundation.
Stone tool discovery in China shows people in East Asia were innovating during the Middle Paleolithic
Archaeology
Researchers in China find the first complete example of stone tool technology previously seen only in Europe and the Middle East.
How microorganisms impact primate reproduction
Grantee Spotlight
Do microbes matter for making babies? Emerging research suggests that the hidden world of microorganisms may play a crucial role in animal reproduction.
Rare fossils show tiny human relative walked upright 2 million years ago
Human Origins
Remarkable new fossils from Swartkrans Cave reveal that a prehistoric human relative walked upright and was tiny and vulnerable to predators.
Fragments of a million-year-old face found in Spain shed new light on ancient human migrations
Human Origins
Researchers discover the earliest human remains ever found in Western Europe, from a species previously unknown in this region, dating from 1.2-1.4 million years ago.
Western Europe’s oldest human face discovered in Spain
Human Origins
Researchers at Atapuerca have found the oldest-known human fossils in Western Europe.
Grantee Spotlight: Salmah Jombela
Grantee Spotlight
Salmah Jombela is one of the few people in the world who has successfully habituated a community of wild chimpanzees. She studies chimps in Kibale National Park in Uganda.