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LOUIS S. B. LEAKEY |
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Paleontologist, archaeologist and anthropologist
Louis Leakey was born at Kabete, Kenya on August 7,
1903. His British parents were missionaries sent to
live among the Kikuyu, Kenya’s largest tribe.
Leakey was the first white baby the Kikuyu had ever
seen and he learned their language before he could
understand English. He was secretly initiated as a
member of the tribe at the age of thirteen and
remained a champion of the Kikuyu (and an expert on
their culture) for the rest of his life.
As a child, Leakey was interested in ornithology.
While out looking for birds in the Kenyan
wilderness, he instead discovered stone arrowheads
and tools. These early finds became the impetus for
what would prove to be a lifelong passion for the
study of human origins. In 1924, while a student at
Cambridge, Leakey was injured while playing Rugby;
on medical advice he took a leave of absence.
During this time away from his studies, he joined
his first archaeological expedition. Following this
experience, Leakey led four fossil-hunting
expeditions in East Africa over the next ten years.
Leakey’s decision to search in Africa was
revolutionary. At that time, most authorities
believed instead that Asia was the premier hunting
ground for humanity’s origins. Leakey steadfastly
held to his conviction on this point, and time has
proven him correct.
Leakey was married to Mary Douglas Nicol in 1936.
Mary Leakey shared her husband’s enthusiasm and
drive to find fossil evidence of our human past.
She became an indispensable partner in Leakey’s
field research endeavors and was personally
responsible for many of the spectacular finds
credited to the Leakey team.
The Leakey’s first important African discovery (in
1948) was the skull of a Miocene hominoid, which
Louis named Proconsul africanus. It is now
believed that this ape-like creature lived from
approximately 23 to 14 million years ago and was
likely a common ancestor of both humans and other
primate species.
Many of the Leakey’s most famous discoveries were
found in northern Tanzania, at Olduvai Gorge.
Because of its unique geological history, this area
is particularly rich in fossil remains. In addition
to evidence of human origins, Leakey excavations
uncovered over 100 different forms of extict animal
life at Olduvai Gorge. The first important
discovery at Olduvai, which Louis named
Zinjanthropus boisei, was uncovered by Mary
Leakey on July 17, 1959. Now known as
Australopithecus boisei, this find was a
watershed moment in the history of paleontology,
vindicating the Leakey’s decision to work at Olduvai
and adding an important stage to the hominid lineage
as it was then known. Another find in 1960
eventually led Leakey and his team to announce the
new species Homo habilis or “handy man.”
Leakey believed that this species was a direct human
ancestor. Debate over the proper interpretation of
many Leakey finds continues today, but no one
questions Louis Leakey’s enormous contribution to
human knowledge about the rise of our species.
In addition to his paleoanthropological research,
Louis Leakey influenced and assisted researchers in
many related fields. He inspired (and found
sponsors for) field studies of chimpanzees, mountain
gorillas, and orangutans by Jane Goodall, Dian
Fossey, and Birute Galdikas Brindamour.
Louis Leakey died of a heart attack in London on
October 1, 1972. He had spent almost half-a-century
contributing to our understanding of the origins of
humankind.
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