Hello! I’m Dr. Jason E. Lewis, incoming Director of the TBI Origins Field School and a Research Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University. I am co-director of the West Turkana Archaeological Project and my research focuses on analyzing fossil animal remains from ancient archaeological sites to reconstruct the evolution, ecology, and behavior of our ancestors (more information can be found here: www.jasonelewis.com; and here: www.westturkanaarcheologicalproject.com).
New Origins Field School Director, Dr. Jason E. Lewis, looking out over the fossiliferous exposures along the Turkwel river.
I have been actively working on the west side of Lake Turkana for 5 years. I first came to the Turkana Basin 13 years ago, as a student on a similar field school, so I know the profound positive impact that such programs can have on young minds. It is an honor and privilege for me to take on this directorship role, and I am looking forward to building upon the great work Dr. Dino Martins has done over the past few years leading this program.
Understanding the evolution of our ancestors in the Turkana Basin.
The Spring 2015 Origins Field School arrived safely at the TBI Turkwel facility on Monday afternoon.
The plane to Turkana landed at Lodwar airport.
Since then, under the instruction of Dr. Martins, we’ve been exploring the ecology of the modern Turkana landscape, as the previous blog has described.
Origins FS students enjoying the breeze at the mess hall.
Yesterday, we visit the reedy channels of the Kerio River Delta, which we’ll post more info about soon.
Paddling our through the Kerio River Delta.
Tomorrow we’ll be headed to stunningly beautiful Central Island. More updates to come, from the field…
