Kenyan paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey dies at 77

[Zorro]

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

NAIROBI, Kenya — Paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, known for his fossil-finding and conservation work in his native Kenya, has died at 77, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced Sunday evening.

The cause of death was not announced.

Leakey, the son of globally known anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, also held a number of public service leadership roles including director of the National Museums of Kenya and what became the Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenyatta’s statement said.

“We are deeply saddened to learn about the news of the death of our founder,” the conservation group WildlifeDirect said.

Read more: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/nation-world/story/2022-01-02/kenyan-paleoanthropologist-richard-leakey-dies-at-77

[Kid Berwyn]

1. The First Family of Paleoanthropology

Together, the Leakeys and Stony Brook are driving the discovery of our prehistoric past

by Brian Smith
Stony Brook University Magazine

We humans don’t know enough about our own family — our taxonomic family, that is, the hominids.

We do know that we’ve been around a long time. Our genus Homo began to develop almost 3 million years ago. That’s long enough to learn how to walk on two legs, make tools out of stone to survive and part ways with the great apes to blaze our own trail.

With that much time, a family is sure to evolve. But without a family tree or a photo album, how do we learn the details?

Meet the Leakeys — not a taxonomic family, but certainly scientific. They’re dubbed “the first family of paleoanthropology,” as much of what we know about our prehistoric ancestors is thanks to their groundbreaking discoveries.

In 1968, Richard Leakey explored the Lake Turkana Basin in his home country of Kenya, established a base camp there and didn’t look back. Decades of digging at that locale uncovered nearly half of all our known fossil evidence of human evolution — enough to be featured on the cover of Nature, the world’s most highly cited science journal, an unparalleled 11 times.

Richard partnered with Stony Brook University in 2005 to create the Turkana Basin Institute, and now the Leakeys are inspiring students to become the next generation of fossil finders, while providing crucial infrastructure for researchers at one of the world’s most prolific places for finding evidence of human evolution in an effort to reveal our very origins.

Continues…

https://www.stonybrook.edu/magazine/2016-spring/the-first-family-of-paleoanthropology

[PatSeg]

2. I read about the Leakeys when I was in 6th grade

I became obsessed with archeology and anthropology after that.

[Aristus]

3. I've been reading about the Leakeys since I was six or so.

My parents subscribed to the Time-Life Books series “The Emergence Of Man”, which I dove into head-first. Several volumes of the series focused on the Leakeys, and on Richard’s important finds in the study of paleoanthropology.

“The Emergence Of Man” series is now seen as obsolete due to the important discoveries made since its publication, including “Lucy.”

[electric_blue68]

4. Aw :( ....

I had a book on the Leaky's when I was a kid. So I
got interested in anthropology.

[paleotn]

5. One of the greats.

[3Hotdogs]

6. Why is this a big deal.

Antediluvians still walk amongst us. They wear red hats and carry flags with snakes imprinted.

[Moebym]

8. Some of those dinosaurs

Live in my neighborhood.

[3Hotdogs]

10. Follow 'em around.

Some museum might pay you $$$$ ++ $$$$$$$ for the bones.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Heard this on the radio this afternoon

Hadn't heard the Leakey name in a long long time.

R.I.P.

[Ferretherder]

9. His parents, Louis and Mary, discovered the oldest known(at the time)...

...hominids in a direct line to modern home sapiens - the Australopithecans.
Long live the Leakeys and their groundbreaking discoveries!