Origins

Louis and Mary Leakey examine the palate of Zinjanthropus.

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.

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Did you know?

Richard and Meave Leakey, in the field near Lake Turkana, in the 1980s.

A common misunderstanding is that the Leakey Foundation is a family foundation supporting and funding the research efforts of the Leakey family.

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The Turkana Basin Institute

Scientists from around the world attend a conference at TBI's Turkwel research facility.

The Turkana Basin Institute is a collaborative, international, multi-disciplinary organization which facilitates scientific research in the Turkana Basin region of northern Kenya.

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