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Each month, we publish a roundup of new human origins research supported by Leakey Foundation grants. This is the science your support makes possible.

An ancient cremation would have been a community spectacle in a place returned to and reignited over many generations. What was behind this unexpected funeral ritual?

Asithandile Ntsondwa is a doctoral student at New York University whose research focuses on human-environment interactions and the role of fire in shaping ancient landscapes

Sylvester Musyoka is a 2025 Baldwin Fellow who uses fossil antelope teeth to learn how past environments influenced human evolution.

Primatologist John Mitani reflects on his parents’ incarceration under Executive Order 9066 and what human origins research tells us about fear, survival, and our capacity for cooperation.

Without emergency funding, one of the longest-running studies of wild orangutans faced an uncertain future. The Leakey Foundation stepped in with an emergency grant through its Primate Research Fund.

The Joan Cogswell Donner Field School Scholarship helps students access hands-on training in paleoanthropology, archaeology, and primatology. In 2025, The Leakey Foundation awarded eight scholarships supporting 29 students at field schools across Africa and Europe.

The Leakey Foundation is proud to introduce three returning Baldwin Fellowship recipients for our fall 2025 granting cycle.

Stephen Magohe, a geologist and assistant lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, has received a second year of support through the Francis H. Brown African Scholarship.

Meet the 30 scientists who received Fall 2025 research grants from The Leakey Foundation to study human origins, evolution, behavior, and survival.