Mary+Leakey

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= =Mary Leakey= =(1913-1996)=

===**Mary Leakey was an archeologist who is credited with the discovery of three major finds of archaeologic history, two of which pertain to human origins. In 1948, discovered the skull of a Proconsul primate. In 1972, along with her son and husband, she discovered homo habilis. Her last find of significance, the Laetoli footprints, were excavated in 1978. Mother of three, and former wife of Louis Leakey, Mary is part of one of the most famous family archeologist/anthropologist teams.**===

Mary Leakey was born February 6, 1913 in England. She was the daughter of Erskine Nicol, a painter. Since she was young she shared an adventurous sprits with her father and grew fond of traveling to various locations such as Italy, the United States, and Egypt where her father would paint various landscapes, but spent extended amounts of time with her mother in France. Beginning when when she was young, Mary had two main interests: illustration and prehistory.

Mary did not very much care for conventional education. Her mother had her placed in a convent in France at age 13 after the death of her father. She had a rebellious spirit and was once expelled for causing an explosion during her chemistry class. It seemed she had little interest in anything except sketching. Later, after she failed to be accepted into any colleges, she began attending free lectures on archaeology at local colleges and museums where she began studying under Mortimer Wheeler, a British archeologist, and author of many books on carious archeological finds, especially those of India. He suggested to her that she sign up to join teams of archeologists on excavations. She met many people who would play influential roles in her education and experience. One of whom was Gertrude Caton Thompson, an English archeologist and historian. Gertrude hired her as an illustrator, and later introduced Mary to Louis Leakey. Louis was looking for an illustrator and was impressed by Mary’s attention to detail. They quickly grew very close, and were later married. In 1934, husband and wife left for East Africa where Mary made three very important discoveries. The first discovery Mary made was the skull and facial structure of a Proconsul primate nearly 16 million years old. This was found in Northern Tanzania at the Olduvai Gorge. It was concluded to be one of the first evolved transition between monkeys and apes. Like a monkey, it walks on all limbs with its spine parallel to the ground. However, no tail has been found. The brain of the Poconsul is considerably larger than that of a contemporary monkey’s, linking it directly to an ape. The hands and feet of the Proconsul are also telling of its origin. It’s hands are more advanced than a contemporary monkey’s, but they share the complexity of the hands and feet of an ape. This evolution supports the theory that an animal, over time, will adapt to fit it’s habitat.

In 1972 Mary and her husband discovered a hominid called homo habilis, meaning “handy man”. This name was given because short after its discovery due to its ability to craft and use tools. It is almost certain that the homo habilis is a direct ancestor of humankind of about 2 million years ago. It’s snout is shorter than that of an early species and it’s brain is significantly larger as well. However, there exists a controversy surrounding this find and which genus it fits into meaning that some scientists believe that it is not a direct ancestor of humankind.

Finally, in 1978, Mary made the find that excited her most. She made this find without her husband who had died six years earlier. This was the discovery of the Laetoli footprints, also found at Olduvai Gorge. These footprints were cemented in volcanic ash and seemed to belong to two of humans early relatives dating back to about 3.6 million years ago. The configuration and placement of the big toe as well as the distribution of weight are the tell-tale signs that these were undeniably related to contemporary humans.


 * Images**:

Mary Leakey - http://www.biography.com/people/mary-leakey-9376051

Proconsul -http://comenius.susqu.edu/biol/202/animals/deuterostomes/craniata/mammalia/hominin-evolution.htm

Homo Habilis - http://www.karencarr.com/tmpl1.php?CID=499

Laetoli Footprints - http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/origins/australopithecus_afarensis.php


 * References**:

Foley, J. (n.d.). Biographies: Mary Leakey. //TalkOrigins Archive: Exploring the Creation/Evolution Controversy//. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/mleakey.html

Holloway, M. (n.d.). Mary Leakey: Unearthing History: Scientific American. //Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American//. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mary-leakey-unearthing-hi&page=3

Laetoli Footprint Trails | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program. (n.d.). //Human Evolution by The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program//. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/laetoli-footprint-trails

Mary Leakey | The Leakey Foundation. (n.d.). //The Leakey Foundation//. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://leakeyfoundation.org/about-us/leakey-family/mary-leakey/

Strauss, B. (n.d.). Proconsul - About.com Prehistoric Mammals. //Dinosaurs at About.com//. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/mesozoicmammals/p/Proconsul.htm

time, t. (n.d.). Homo habilis. //Human Evolution by The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program//. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-habilis