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Years of Field Work:
33
Leakey Luck?
"It’s perseverence"
Education:
B. Sc. and Ph.D. in Zoology for the University of North Wales, UK
Year of Birth:
1942
Childhood Hobby:
Doing jigsaw puzzles with the pieces turned upside down.
Motivation:
"You’re always expecting to find something."
Heir Apparent:
Daughter Louise
Quote:
“One of these early
hominids was ancestral to us, but
we don’t know which. It could well be something we haven’t yet
found.”
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Watch an interview with Dr. Meave Leakey as she talks about the
discovery of a new human ancestor.
Real Audio Windows Media
Institute of Human Origins
www.becominghuman.org/
Get news on the latest developments in paleontology, find a list of additional sources including a
glossary of terms, and watch a documentary in
broadband, hosted by institute director and Lucy’s
discoverer, Donald Johanson.
The Leakey Foundation
www.leakeyfoundation.org/
Learn more about the Leakey family history and the projects funded by their foundation.
The National Museums of Kenya
www.museums.or.ke/
Learn more about resources for researchers including the Institute of Primate Research, started by Dr. Louis Leakey in 1960.
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| Photographs by Robert Campbell Copyright National Museums of Kenya |
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This Week’s Questions. Click on a question for a full response.
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| Name: | Peter Louwerse |
| Subject: | Dating methods |
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| There has been much discussion about the validity of carbon dating?
How reliable is it? Is there any other method you have of dating the finds you are making? |
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| Leakey’s Answer: |
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| Carbon dating has limitations because it can only be used to date relatively
young fossils, usually no older than 50,000 years and a maximum of 100,000 years. This is because the half-life of the
relevant carbon isotope is so short. We use potassium argon dating and we do not date the actual fossils. Instead we
date volcanic layers in which we find the fossils or which sandwich the sedimentary layers in which we find the
fossils. Because the half-life of the relevant potassium isotope is so long, this method can be used on very old
rocks. |
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| Name: | Michael Pinneo |
| Subject: | curious |
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| Question: |
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| As a materials scientist/engineer (at the moment), I feel a powerful sense of
continuity with, and gratitude for, the efforts of my predecessors. It seems to me that you exercise your talents in a
field that might facilitate a feeling of connection with those who have gone quite a bit before us. Can you tell us
anything of your thoughts and feelings about our possible ancestors as you go about your work? Thank you. |
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| Leakey’s Answer: |
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| Much of the thrill of finding a fossil hominid is the knowledge that there is
a direct genetic link between oneself and the ancestor that the fossil represents. Discoveries of human ancestors evoke
a mixture of emotions including humility, excitement and curiosity. |
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| Name: | Christina Myer |
| Subject: | DNA |
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| Question: |
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| Which modern primate has DNA closest to humans? And, then, which of the
prehistoric hominid branches had DNA closest to humans, or other modern primates? |
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| Leakey’s Answer: |
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| Modern African apes, the common chimpanzee and the bonobo are genetically
closest to ourselves. DNA has been found in fossils of Neanderthals about 120,000 years old but it has not yet
been found in human ancestors older than this. |
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| Name: | Emilia |
| Subject: | differences |
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| Question: |
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| This new genus and Australopithecus existed around the
same time. What are the differences between the two that caused you to create a new genus to accommodate Kenya Man? |
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| Leakey’s Answer: |
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| The differences are largely in the shape of the face—Kenyanthropus
differs from,Australopithecus in its flat, rather long face, the deep cheek area and the small teeth. These
differences suggest these two early hominids had different dietary preferences. |
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| Name: | David Reichelt, curator, Pecos Museum of Early Man |
| Subject: | Human |
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| What is your definition of the term “Human”?
How do you relate it with “Homo”? |
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| Leakey’s Answer: |
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| Everyone has their own view of the term “human.” I think that our
ancestors were not really “human” until Homo sapiens appeared. And I think that art symbolism, speech
with syntax and an ability to think about the meaning of life are all “human” characters. However it is not
possible to detect all these characters in the fossil and archaeological record. |
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