Leakey, Richard
Leakey, RichardBy: Meg
Richard Leakey- Homo habilis Richard Leakey was born December 19, 1944 in Nairobi, Kenya. His parents were the esteemed anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey. Richard first became a tour guide in Kenya, but changed his mind when he found an extinct human jaw. He then schooled himself by completing a two-year secondary education program in six months. From 1967-77 he and his co-workers dug up around 400 fossils, that accounted for 230 individuals. The most important discovery was an almost complete skull found in 1977, which Richard believe to be a new species called Homo habilis. Richard Leakey�s accomplishments are discovering the crania of Australopithecus boisei in 1969 with the archaeologist Glynn Isaac on the East shores of Lake Turkana, Homo habilis in 1972, and Homo erectus in1975. He was appointed administrative director in 1968 of the National Museum of Kenya, and in director 1974. Since 1989 he has been director of the Wildlife and Conservation Management Service, Kenya. His publications include Origins in 1977 and The Making of Mankind in 1981, both with Roger Lewin. Australopithecus africanus inhabited the earth roughly 3 - 1.6 million years ago. The characteristic difference between the Ausrtalopithicus afarenis and africanus is the height and brain capacity. The height of the africanus is 1.4 m and the brain capacity is approximately 400 - 600 cc. Smaller incisor teeth and a slightly flatter face are also noted. The afarensis has a height of 1.2...
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