Famed paleoanthropologist and zoologist Meave Leakey will speak tonight as a part of the University Lectures speaker series in Hendricks Chapel at 7:30. Her lecture, ‘The Search and Discovery of Our Earliest Ancestors,’ will address her work in the field of paleontology.

She will discuss her latest research and the recent developments in the field of paleoanthropolgy, said Patrick Farrell, an academic affairs information officer. Her recent research includes the discovery of an ancient skull in Kenya, and Farrell said she’d discuss the implications of this discovery.

‘She’s an ardent storyteller,’ said Esther Grey, member of the University Lecture series advisory board. She said Leakey’s stories will be accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation.

Leakey and her team of researchers made headlines with the discovery of Kenyanthropus platyops, a 3.5 million year old skull in Kenya, which has altered the study of early human ancestry. The skull is the oldest evidence of human existence. She has published over 50 scientific articles and books and continues to work with her daughter, Louise, on excavations. Leakey has worked at the National Museum of Kenya since 1969 and was head of the Division of Paleontology there from 1982 until 2001.

‘She’s the top-most person in her field,’ Grey said.

Leakey has been at Syracuse University since Sunday night and will be in Syracuse through Wednesday. During her time at SU, she taught several classes and attended a dinner with members of Women In Science. However, Leakey’s busy lifestyle has not slowed her down, even with age.

‘The lifestyle of tromping around and looking for fossils has made her very physically fit,’ Grey said. ‘And you can see the effect that the sand and grit has had on her.’

The crowd for the lecture is not expected to be as large as the one drawn by recent lecturer Garrison Keillor, but organizers still hope for a large turnout.

‘Garrison Keillor was an exception, and it gave us a heads-up to know what kind of crowd we would have,’ Farrell said. ‘But with a speaker like Leakey, she and her husband have a following. It should be kind of a scholarly lecture, more intellectual. It’ll have more of a scholarly tone.’

Published on March 15, 2004 at 12:00 pm