Are there any fossil hunting techniques that have been passed down through the generations of Leakeys?
I seriously doubt it. I think we have been very lucky to live in a country where there is so much to be found. We’ve had an interest in it. Different generations have benefitted from previous generations knowing where to find things and how to find them. It’s sort of in the family culture but I don’t think there is any more to it than that. There are no tricks of the trade that you pass down? No, no, no. I don’t think so. One last question, what has been the greatest fossil hominid discovery since Zinjanthropus and why? Well, I think, in some ways the Turkana Boy, Homo erectus, was. And I think it was the most important since Zinj because it provided so much more information than just a skull and teeth. It had limb bones, which enabled us to look at limb bones from other taxa. It was sufficiently complete that I think even right-wing fundamentalists had to concede that it is remarkably human and all they can question is its age. I think it was a very solid nail in the plank against cre
