News

Two Leakey Foundation grantees tell the story of their discovery of some of the oldest-known stone tools used to butcher large animals.

The Leakey Foundation is excited to announce the launch of a new season of Origin Stories, our award-winning podcast about the fascinating world of human evolution.

We are pleased to announce the 32 recipients of our fall 2022 Leakey Foundation Research Grants. 

Friyat Angesom Kidane and Tekie Tesfamichael have been named as the fall 2022 Francis H. Brown African Scholars for their outstanding research exploring ancient biodiversity and the impact of climate change on human evolution.

Anatomist and paleoanthropologist Dr. Carol Ward has received The Leakey Foundation’s 2022 Gordon P. Getty Award. This award recognizes scientists whose multidisciplinary research significantly advances science related to human origins, evolution, behavior, and survival. 

The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation for the Arts donated proceeds from a series of Christie’s auctions to six San Francisco Bay Area art and science organizations, including The Leakey Foundation.

The 50th episode of Lunch Break Science will stream on December 15, 2022, at 11 am Pacific / 2 pm Eastern and it will feature past guests of the show answering audience questions and addressing common misconceptions about human evolution. Viewers of the livestream will have the opportunity to win prizes.

We are thrilled to report that our generous donors gave $9,298 for Giving Tuesday! The first $7,000 was matched by a group of sponsors.

A new study contradicts recent estimates claiming important paleontological sites in South Africa are almost a million years older. Researchers used teeth from an extinct monkey species as a clue to date the ages of hominin fossils throughout South Africa.

An encounter with a mysterious and extinct human relative – the Denisovans – has left a mark on the immune traits of modern Papuans, in particular those living on New Guinea Island.