 |
Mary LeakeyBritish paleoanthropologist
Date of Birth: 06.02.1913
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
Mary Leakey: The British Paleoanthropologist who Uncovered the Origins of Humans
British paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey discovered the first fossilized skull of a proconsul, an ancient primate that may have been a human ancestor. In the Olduvai Gorge, she found the well-preserved skull of a paranthropus, a close relative to the higher primates known as australopithecines. Throughout her career, she worked alongside her famous husband, archaeologist and anthropologist Louis Leakey, in East Africa, extracting ancient hominid tools and fossils from the prehistoric dust. Mary developed a system for classifying the stone tools found in Olduvai, discovered 15 new species of animals, and one new genus. In Laetoli, Tanzania, Mary Leakey's team found footprints of bipedal hominids preserved in volcanic ash that date back at least 3.6 million years.
Early Life and Education
Mary Douglas Nicol was born on February 6, 1913, in London. Her father was a landscape painter, and their family constantly moved from place to place in search of inspiration - from England to the USA, from Egypt to Italy. They spent a significant amount of time in the south of France, where Mary became fluent in French. Mary and her father shared a close bond, both being adventurers with insatiable curiosity, but her relationship with her mother was more distant. At the age of 12, she participated in her first excavation in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, where the inexperienced archaeologist Elie Peyrony allowed her to explore his dumping ground. It was there that Mary began collecting scrapers and knives and became interested in the classification of stone tools and prehistoric era. However, her father passed away from cancer in the spring of 1926, and Mary and her family had to return to London. Her mother, after selling her husband's paintings, rented a house in Kensington and sent Mary to a local Catholic monastery for education. Unfortunately, Mary's rebellious approach to her education led to her expulsion from two schools, where she caused an explosion in a chemistry laboratory. Her attempt at private tutoring yielded similar results. Mary's interests lay in drawing and archaeology, and she pursued them on her own. However, due to her unconventional approach to education, she was unable to study her chosen field at Oxford, and instead settled for attending lectures at the London Museum. Nevertheless, in 1951, Mary Leakey was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford, a significant achievement for a girl who had failed all her exams in school.
Career and Personal Life
As Mary grew older, she gained practical experience in archaeology, continuing to participate in excavations year after year, while also working as an illustrator. Her drawings of stone tools caught the attention of Gertrude Caton-Thompson, a woman who had made a brilliant career as an archaeologist at a time when female archaeologists were virtually nonexistent. Through Caton-Thompson, Mary met Louis Leakey, who was also looking for an illustrator for his book. A scandalous romance ensued between them, which cost Louis his career at Cambridge. Mary and Louis married in 1936, once his first wife granted him a divorce. The couple had three sons who grew up on archaeological digs in Africa and embraced the same spirit of freedom as their parents. Mary was known for her chain-smoking, often seen dressed as if she were on an excavation, and her home was always filled with their own and other people's children and pets. Mary Leakey passed away on December 9, 1996, at the age of 83. In April 2013, the British Post Office honored her achievements by including her in the series of commemorative stamps called "Great Britons." Google also celebrated her 100th birthday on February 6, 2013, with a doodle featuring Mary discovering hominid footprints, accompanied by her beloved dalmatians, often seen in early photographs with the Leakeys.
