World's Leading Scholars Participate in the 4th Annual Human Evolution Symposium at Stony Brook

STONY BROOK, NY - In late September, many of the foremost anthropologists and human evolution scholars participated in the Human Evolution Symposium at Stony Brook University to discuss the topic on "Diversity in Australopithecus: Tracking the Earliest Bipeds."

Every fall semester since 2004, Dr. Richard Leakey, Visiting Professor of Anthropology at Stony Brook, leads discussions and workshops on the latest findings in the field of anthropology on various topics. The 2007 Symposium focused on the evolutionary relationships among the different species of the most geographically widespread and taxonomically diverse hominid in the Pliocene of Africa, Australopithecus, which has been the subject of ongoing debate for a quarter of a century.

In 1925 Raymond Dart discovered a small creature he named Australopithecus africanus in South Africa which showed that our early ancestors were from Africa. While controversial at the time, it turned interest from exploring for human ancestors in Asia and Europe. Since then, species of Australopithecus have been found in many other parts of the continent ranging in time from 4.2 to ~2.5 million years ago. Beginning in 1959, Louis and Mary Leakey discovered other fossil hominids at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and firmly established Africa as the center of early hominid evolution.

Because of the adaptations and climate changes that occurred in this region over this large time span, there is a possibility that not all of the findings currently categorized under Australopithecus actually belong to the genus. The questions raised at the symposium therefore included: How are all these species related to each other and to other early hominids? What factors are responsible for this diversity? Is the diversity change through time of a single lineage? Or is it the result of geographical separation or adaptation to different ecological habitats?

"While most scientists agree that these early hominids were bipeds, they show many features not found in living humans, such as relatively long arms, and long curved toes and fingers, suggesting they also were at home in the trees," said Dr. Leakey. "An examination of these issues by the leading scientists from across the globe will lead us to a greater understanding of human evolution."

The symposium brought together many international and local scientists from several disciplines to try and obtain a clearer appreciation and understanding of the major forces and events that shaped the root of the human lineage. Speakers included Dr. William Kimbel of Arizona State University who addressed the lineage of Australopithecus. Ronald Clarke, paleoanthropologist at the University of Witwatersrand discussing Australopithecus in South Africa. Dr. Meave Leakey, also Visiting Professor at Stony Brook spoke of the recent find, Kenyanthropus platyops, with features so odd that it was placed into its own genus.

Registration for the symposium was oversold; thus highlighting the great success of the event. It attracted a diverse audience ranging from academics from higher education institutions, high school teachers, Long Island residents, and students. The symposium serves as a way for Stony Brook to gain more recognition for its research, especially with the initiation of the new research program, the Turkana Basin Institute (TBI).

Located in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia, the Turkana Basin is rich in fossils dating from approximately 5 million years ago. Limited access to research funds, as well as scarce research opportunities in government institutions has, until now, presented a major deterrent to Africans who wish to continue Africa-based research in paleontology and paleoanthropology. TBI will provide an opportunity for indigenous Africans to be involved as key members and leaders of the research efforts. Stony Brook has already supplied 1.4 million dollars to the institute and currently has four graduate fellows and three postdoctoral students doing research in the basin.