Introduction:
Richard Erskine Leakey was born on December 19, 1994, and was the second of Louis and Mary Leakey's three sons. Both his parents had a tremendous impact on the study of human origins. Richard Leakey quickly followed his parents' footsteps and found his first fossil at the age of six. During these fossil-hunting expeditions, Richard Leakey occupied himself with by tracking wild animals (The Leaky Foundation, N.D.) This was the start of his extensive career, making significant contributions to the scientific world.
The Leakey Family:
From the very start, Louis Leakey felt that our species arose in Africa. After many generations, the Leakey family have unearthed the secrets of the very beginning of mankind, and shared these discoveries with the world. Louis and Mary Leakey, Richard Leakey's parents, made Olduvai Gorge, located within Tanzania in what is now the famous Serengeti Park (Leakey.com, N.D.)
The Leakey’s consist of five members: Louis Leakey (1903-1972), Mary Leakey (1913-1996), Meave Leakey (1942-), Richard Leakey (1944-) and Louise Leakey (1972-). Louis was married to Mary in 1936. Similar to her husband, Mary had the enthusiasm to look for fossil evidence of human past. She became a crucial partner in Leakey's field research expeditions and was responsible for many of the spectacular finds credited to the Leakey team. Louis, Mary and Richard are considered to be the greatest paleontologists in history.
The Leakey's first important discovery was the skull of a Miocene hominid in 1948, which Louis named “Proconsul africanus”. After that, Leakey excavations uncovered more than 100 different forms of extinct animal life at Olduvai Gorge, Africa. The first important discovery in that region, which Louis named “Zinjanthropus boisei”, was found by Mary on July 17, 1959. Now known as “Australopithecus boisei”, this find was a watershed moment in the history of paleontology, encouraging the Leakey's decision to continue working 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." Louis believed that this species was a direct human ancestor. Louis and Mary Leakey in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge in 1959 discussing the 1.75-million-year-old remains of Zinjanthropus boisei (later reclassified Australopithecus boisei), a discovery that cemented humanity's African origin- Image Source:http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/apetoman/index.html
Richard is Louis and Mary’s second child, who is considered to be a greater paleontologist than his parents are. Between 1968 and 1989 he coordinated the NMK field expeditions to the eastern and western shores of Lake Turkana. With the support from Mr. Kamoya Kimeu, many important finds were made, including the extraordinary discovery of the nearly-complete 1.6 million year old skeleton of the "Turkana Boy (or "Nariokotome Boy"), a Homo erectus youth. He published the fiction "The Sixth Extinction" with Roger Lewin.
“Turkana boy” is a skeleton discovered by Richard Leakey and Kamoya Kimeu in 1984 at Nariokotome near Lake Turkana in Kenya (Brown et al.1985; Leakey and Lewin, 1992; Walker and Leakey, 1993). This is an almost complete skeleton of an 11 or 12 year old boy, with the omission of his hands and feet (scientists believe erectus matured faster than modern humans, so that “Turkana boy” was really around 9 years old (Leakey and Lewin 1992)).
It is the most complete known specimen of H. erectus, and also 1.6 million years old, one of the oldest among skeleton of human being. His brain size was 880 cc, and it is estimated that it would have been 910 cc at adulthood (a modern human of comparable size would be expected to have a brain size of about 1350 cc). The boy was 160 cm (5'3") tall, and predicts are that he might have been about 185 cm (6'1") as an adult. Apart from the skull, the skeleton is very similar to that of modern boys, although there are a number of small differences.
The most striking is that the holes in his vertebrae, through which the spinal cord goes, have only about half the cross-sectional area found in modern humans. One suggested explanation for this is that the boy lacked the fine motor control we have in the thorax to control speech, implying that he wasn't nearly as fluent a speaker as modern humans are (Walker and Shipman 1996).
“Turkana boy” is significant because the skeleton is nearly complete, allowing scientists to compare it with the skeleton of modern human. As a result we can understand how human being has evolved over the past 1.6 million years in both physical and social aspects.
Why he lost both his legs:
In 1993 Richard Leakey lost both of his legs when he crashed in his propeller-driven plane, and sabotage was suspected although never proven. He starting walking again a few months after on artificial limbs. Around this time the Kenyan government announced that a secret probe had found evidence of corruption and mismanagement in the KWS. Leakey in his frustration, declared his resignation in a press conference in January 1994. (Wikipedia, 2007)
Political Issues:
Apart from paleontology, Richard was also involved in political issues, where he was appointed the head of the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) in 1989. In 1990, he became more involved in Kenyan politics, serving as Secretary General of Kenyan opposition party Safina. In December 1997, he was elected to an opposition seat in the Kenyan parliament.
Debate over the proper interpretation of many Leakey finds continues today, but no one questions the Leakey's enormous contribution to human knowledge about the rise of our species.
Bibliography
The William H. Donner Foundation. (n.d.). Richard Leakey. In //The Leakey//
//Foundation//. Retrieved June 10, 2007, from
http://www.leakeyfoundation.org/foundation/f1_4.jsp
Leakey.com. (n.d.). Leakey Legacy. In //Leakey.com//. Retrieved June 13, 2007, from
http://www.leakey.com/leakey_legacy.htm
Leakey, R. E., & Lewin, R. (1977). Origins Reconsidered. ‘Superb’ New Scientist.
Shipman, P., & Walker, A. (1986). The Human Skeleton. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Richard Leakey
Image Source: //http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/rleakey.html
Introduction:
Richard Erskine Leakey was born on December 19, 1994, and was the second of Louis and Mary Leakey's three sons. Both his parents had a tremendous impact on the study of human origins. Richard Leakey quickly followed his parents' footsteps and found his first fossil at the age of six. During these fossil-hunting expeditions, Richard Leakey occupied himself with by tracking wild animals (The Leaky Foundation, N.D.) This was the start of his extensive career, making significant contributions to the scientific world.
The Leakey Family:
From the very start, Louis Leakey felt that our species arose in Africa. After many generations, the Leakey family have unearthed the secrets of the very beginning of mankind, and shared these discoveries with the world. Louis and Mary Leakey, Richard Leakey's parents, made Olduvai Gorge, located within Tanzania in what is now the famous Serengeti Park (Leakey.com, N.D.)
The Leakey’s consist of five members: Louis Leakey (1903-1972), Mary Leakey (1913-1996), Meave Leakey (1942-), Richard Leakey (1944-) and Louise Leakey (1972-). Louis was married to Mary in 1936. Similar to her husband, Mary had the enthusiasm to look for fossil evidence of human past. She became a crucial partner in Leakey's field research expeditions and was responsible for many of the spectacular finds credited to the Leakey team. Louis, Mary and Richard are considered to be the greatest paleontologists in history.
The Leakey's first important discovery was the skull of a Miocene hominid in 1948, which Louis named “Proconsul africanus”. After that, Leakey excavations uncovered more than 100 different forms of extinct animal life at Olduvai Gorge, Africa. The first important discovery in that region, which Louis named “Zinjanthropus boisei”, was found by Mary on July 17, 1959. Now known as “Australopithecus boisei”, this find was a watershed moment in the history of paleontology, encouraging the Leakey's decision to continue working 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." Louis believed that this species was a direct human ancestor.
Richard is Louis and Mary’s second child, who is considered to be a greater paleontologist than his parents are. Between 1968 and 1989 he coordinated the NMK field expeditions to the eastern and western shores of Lake Turkana. With the support from Mr. Kamoya Kimeu, many important finds were made, including the extraordinary discovery of the nearly-complete 1.6 million year old skeleton of the "Turkana Boy (or "Nariokotome Boy"), a Homo erectus youth. He published the fiction "The Sixth Extinction" with Roger Lewin.
Human Origins: The finding of Turkana Boy:
Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TurkanaboyV.jpg
“Turkana boy” is a skeleton discovered by Richard Leakey and Kamoya Kimeu in 1984 at Nariokotome near Lake Turkana in Kenya (Brown et al.1985; Leakey and Lewin, 1992; Walker and Leakey, 1993). This is an almost complete skeleton of an 11 or 12 year old boy, with the omission of his hands and feet (scientists believe erectus matured faster than modern humans, so that “Turkana boy” was really around 9 years old (Leakey and Lewin 1992)).
It is the most complete known specimen of H. erectus, and also 1.6 million years old, one of the oldest among skeleton of human being. His brain size was 880 cc, and it is estimated that it would have been 910 cc at adulthood (a modern human of comparable size would be expected to have a brain size of about 1350 cc). The boy was 160 cm (5'3") tall, and predicts are that he might have been about 185 cm (6'1") as an adult. Apart from the skull, the skeleton is very similar to that of modern boys, although there are a number of small differences.
The most striking is that the holes in his vertebrae, through which the spinal cord goes, have only about half the cross-sectional area found in modern humans. One suggested explanation for this is that the boy lacked the fine motor control we have in the thorax to control speech, implying that he wasn't nearly as fluent a speaker as modern humans are (Walker and Shipman 1996).
“Turkana boy” is significant because the skeleton is nearly complete, allowing scientists to compare it with the skeleton of modern human. As a result we can understand how human being has evolved over the past 1.6 million years in both physical and social aspects.
Why he lost both his legs:
In 1993 Richard Leakey lost both of his legs when he crashed in his propeller-driven plane, and sabotage was suspected although never proven. He starting walking again a few months after on artificial limbs. Around this time the Kenyan government announced that a secret probe had found evidence of corruption and mismanagement in the KWS. Leakey in his frustration, declared his resignation in a press conference in January 1994. (Wikipedia, 2007)
Political Issues:
Apart from paleontology, Richard was also involved in political issues, where he was appointed the head of the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) in 1989. In 1990, he became more involved in Kenyan politics, serving as Secretary General of Kenyan opposition party Safina. In December 1997, he was elected to an opposition seat in the Kenyan parliament.
Debate over the proper interpretation of many Leakey finds continues today, but no one questions the Leakey's enormous contribution to human knowledge about the rise of our species.
Bibliography
The William H. Donner Foundation. (n.d.). Richard Leakey. In //The Leakey// //Foundation//. Retrieved June 10, 2007, from http://www.leakeyfoundation.org/foundation/f1_4.jsp Leakey.com. (n.d.). Leakey Legacy. In //Leakey.com//. Retrieved June 13, 2007, from http://www.leakey.com/leakey_legacy.htm Leakey, R. E., & Lewin, R. (1977). Origins Reconsidered. ‘Superb’ New Scientist. Shipman, P., & Walker, A. (1986). The Human Skeleton. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.