The mission of The Leakey Foundation is to increase scientific knowledge, education, and public understanding of human origins, evolution, behavior and survival
Our Heritage
Inspired by the interpretations of human evolution proposed by Dr. Louis Leakey, one of the past century's great anthropologists, several individuals founded The Leakey Foundation in 1968 to support his fieldwork and scientific priorities. Within its first decade of existence, The Leakey Foundation provided grants to many of the seminal studies that inform our understanding of human prehistory such as the field research and discoveries of Louis, Richard and Mary Leakey, Don Johanson, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas. Today, The Leakey Foundation continues to support the significant studies of researchers like Zeresenay Alemseged, Jill Pruetz, Dan Lieberman, Frederick Grine, Sileshi Semaw, David Lordkipanidze and many more.
In keeping with Louis's philosophy, we promote a multidisciplinary approach to exploring human origins. Leakey Foundation grantees study many facets of our early ancestors including:
- The ecology of their times
- Their biology
- The inter-relationships of different species
We also support projects that can shed light on how the behavior of modern hunter-gatherers and our closest living relatives, the great apes, may be similar to the way our hominid ancestors lived.
Commitment to Scientific Inquiry
The Leakey Foundation awards more than $600,000 in field grants annually for vital new research exploring human evolution. It is the only US funding organization wholly committed to human origins research. Recent priorities have included research into the environments, archaeology and human paleontology of the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene; into the behavior, morphology and ecology of the great apes and other primate species; and into the behavioral ecology of contemporary hunter-gatherers.
Investing in the Future
Training grants and fellowships allow young scientists to pursue higher degrees or specialized training--especially in developing nations where such funding is not readily available. The Franklin Mosher Baldwin Fellowship program, launched in 1977, has enabled more than 150 African scientists to complete their graduate work and pursue careers in human origins research.
Public Programs and Membership
The study of human evolution is itself an "evolving" endeavor. We recognize that science is stimulated and advanced by education and public outreach. The Foundation's members have joined with the scientific community for 40 years, investing in field projects and raising public awareness. Opportunities for the public to learn firsthand about scientific advances are available through member-sponsored lectures, workshops, and symposia. Publication of our newsletter, AnthroQuest, provides information on the latest fieldwork by grantees, as well as articles by members of the scientific community. Recently the support of our members has brought field scientists into high school classrooms to discuss careers in science and the latest research in human origins.
We invite your involvement to help guide the direction of future human origins studies. Researching our past can help solve the greatest puzzle of our time – what makes us human?
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