The notion of an African genesis for humankind is widely accepted today, but it was not always so. When Louis Leakey began to search for human fossils in East Africa in the early 1930s he was met with skepticism from his colleagues.

Louis and his wife Mary held firm to this belief through decades of exploring sites in Tanzania and Kenya, and in 1959 their faith was vindicated when they uncovered the first of many hominid fossils at Olduvai Gorge.

Six decades and three generations later the Leakey family maintains the same commitment to piecing together the story of our origins. They have always believed that sharing and helping to interpret their discoveries with an enthusiastic and interested public is an essential part of their work. In this tradition, Leakey.com is committed to promoting interest and understanding of the human story.

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