lauramorrissey

About Laura Morrissey

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So far Laura Morrissey has created 10 blog entries.

Our Day in Lodwar

A major aspect and problem of archaeological work is the preservation of sites.  Archaeological sites are prone to natural forces such as weathering along with human acts such as robbery and vandalism.  To understand the problems facing current archaeological sites, the Origins Field School students participated in a cultural management project, where they not only [...]

By |2017-05-06T15:44:34+03:00May 6th, 2017|Spring 2017|Comments Off on Our Day in Lodwar

Embracing Our Ancestry

The students have arrived at Turkwel for their final adventure of The Origins Field School, the Archaeology module.  For this, we are joined by Dr. Elisabeth Hildebrand from Stonybrook University who studies the beginnings of agriculture and herding in Africa. She has also done research in East Africa area for over 10 years! Dr. [...]

By |2017-04-10T07:00:41+03:00April 10th, 2017|Spring 2017|Comments Off on Embracing Our Ancestry

Our Murky Origins

As curious beings, we often question where we came from and how we came to be.  We used to think of our evolutionary tree as a straight branch, with an animal that looked like a chimp furthest back, a half chimp half man transitional species, and then us.  However, as the field of paleoanthropology progresses, [...]

By |2017-03-30T20:54:46+03:00March 30th, 2017|Field Schools, Spring 2017|Comments Off on Our Murky Origins

The Beginning of Our Origins

The moment we have all been waiting for has arrived, the human evolution module.  For the module, Dr. Matthew Borths from the University of Ohio joins us to tell the story of our own evolutionary origins.  Dr. Borths studies changes in African ecosystems, particularly as they relate to ape evolution, throughout the Miocene.  He was [...]

By |2017-03-22T12:47:53+03:00March 21st, 2017|Field Schools, Spring 2017|Comments Off on The Beginning of Our Origins

The Power of Paleontology

As paleontology neared the end, students were able to demonstrate what they learned throughout the course by designing research experiments. These projects focused on a wide array of paleontological methods and topics including excavation, tooth wear, and how an animal's chewing rate correlates with its body size. The students worked quite hard on these projects [...]

By |2017-03-15T09:35:41+03:00March 15th, 2017|General, Spring 2017|Comments Off on The Power of Paleontology

“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”

To put their geology skills to the test, students set out to make a geological map of area 1, which is near our home in Ileret.  This map not only included essential features such as a key, a compass showing where north is, and a scale, but also important geological features including tuffs, ancient river [...]

By |2017-02-24T22:07:14+03:00February 24th, 2017|Spring 2017|Comments Off on “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads”

A Window Into The Rocks

Our first module came to an end, which unfortunately meant it was time to say goodbye to Dino and his adorable field assistant Barabara.  Ecology has set the stage for the rest of the Origins Field School, especially our next adventure, geology.  Geological processes that have formed our current ecology have not changed throughout time. Thus [...]

By |2017-02-18T14:38:31+03:00February 17th, 2017|Field Schools, Spring 2017|Comments Off on A Window Into The Rocks

Our New Home, Ileret.

We are now in Ileret, which is on the east side of Lake Turkana. We will be here for 7 weeks of the field school! Map of Lake Turkana. Ileret is on the northeastern side of the lake. Student dorms at TBI Ileret. Photo credit Deming Yang. TA Laura pretending [...]

By |2017-02-05T10:11:37+03:00February 5th, 2017|Spring 2017|Comments Off on Our New Home, Ileret.
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