Other Remarks
Welcome Remarks
Charles Kimberlain Brain Memorial Tribute
Mikael Fortelius / Indrė Žliobaitė
Collection bias: Making use of what everybody knows
As everybody knows, and as Richard Leakey was fond of pointing out, fossils are collected under many kinds of bias. Mikael Fortelius and his team explore how knowledge of such biases might be obtained post hoc, from understanding of the general processes and priorities involved.
John G. Fleagle / Osbjorn Pearson
Richard Leakey finds the earliest modern human
In 1967, Richard Leakey led the Kenyan research team in the exploration of the Plio-Pleistocene sediments along the Omo River. The Kenyans recovered portions of three crania, one of which (Omo I) dated to 130,000 years in age, making it the earliest modern human. On a flight to the field camp, Richard spotted promising sediments at Koobi Fora. The Omo Kibish fossils remained important but some experts rejected their date. In the early 2000s, at the instigation of Zelalem Assefa, John Fleagle, Frank Brown, John Shea, Zelalem Assefa, and Solomon Yirga revisited the sites in the Kibish Formation, conducted a more detailed stratigraphic study, found even more of Omo I, and dated the stratum that contained the fossil to 195,000 years in age. Another recent study also suggests an early age. The new dates underscore the importance of Richard Leakey's discoveries from this early portion of his scientific career.