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LOUISE N. LEAKEY |
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From
her first visit to the Turkana Basin when she was
just weeks old, to her most publicized one (on March
19, 2001 when she and a group of scientists led by
her mother Dr. Meave Leakey unearthed the skull of
Kenyanthropus platyops), Louise Leakey has
been a part of the annual expeditions to the field.
As the youngest of Leakey fossil-hunters, Louise has
been true to her family legacy with her adventurous
spirit, ambitious research, and unwavering focus on
the advancement of science and our understanding of
human origins and evolution.
Louise recently completed her Ph.D. at the
University of London, and now heads the Koobi Fora
Research Project. With her characteristic vigour she
is currently working to transform the Koobi Fora
Research Camp into a year-round research station on
the shores of Lake Turkana. She and her team hope to
produce dramatic new finds in the coming years. Like
her parents, Richard and Meave Leakey, and her
grandparents, the pre-eminent Louis and Mary Leakey,
Louise focuses her study on the evolution of early
human ancestors. Particularly interesting to her is
the period between 2 million years ago and 1.5 mya.
At this time, the hominid fossil record shows
considerable diversity in species and morphology.
Many questions still beg to be answered, especially
with regards to the origins of Homo, our own genus.
Through a rigorous process of searching, excavation,
paleoecological and geological analysis, and a
little bit of paleoanthropological intuition,
Louise, along with Meave, has precisely pinpointed
regions within the 1200 square kilometre area of
East Turkana that will most likely produce the
answers to questions raised about this critical
period in human evolution. At least for the coming
decades, the Leakey legacy lives on.
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