Spring 2015

Spring 2015 Field School ends :(

This semester we have learned a lot....we have made lifelong friends and we have grown as an individual. We are sad to leave but it's time to move on.  Here are some pics from our last week in Turkana. One last day in Lodwar town... .  One last lunch in Lodwar at The Diner. [...]

By |2017-01-04T18:04:47+03:00March 30th, 2015|Field Schools, Spring 2015|Comments Off on Spring 2015 Field School ends :(

Our Fossil Ancestors in Turkana

As students began their study of hominins and the evolution to bipedalism, they began their study by comparing and contrasting skeletal parts between modern humans, modern apes, and finally, our fossil ancestors. Below are pictures from students’ lab activity on parts of the skeleton of modern humans, apes, and fossil hominins. Dr. Skinner leads a [...]

By |2017-01-04T18:04:47+03:00March 26th, 2015|Field Schools, Spring 2015|Comments Off on Our Fossil Ancestors in Turkana

Early apes in Turkana

We have finally entered our last module on Paleoanthropology and is one of the main reason most field school students have come to the Turkana Basin Institute Field School to learn … Human Evolution! With extensive fossil deposits, the Turkana Basin is one of the most (if not #1) important regions for human prehistory. This [...]

By |2017-01-04T18:04:47+03:00March 21st, 2015|Field Schools, Spring 2015|Comments Off on Early apes in Turkana

Early tool-makers/geologists

In the fields of paleoanthropology and archaeology we are not just searching for bones of our early ancestors. Instead we are seeking knowledge of our biological and technological origins and how these characteristics have changed over time. Presently, the earliest fossil bipedal hominins are between 4- 7 million years old (discussed more in the next [...]

By |2017-01-04T18:04:47+03:00March 13th, 2015|Field Schools, Spring 2015|Comments Off on Early tool-makers/geologists

Human activity from the Recent Past

In the last 100,000 years, human behavior evolved to a lifestyle with trading, burying their deceased, fishing, more cooked food, and the creation of figurative art and better-made tools. At the end of the last glacial period (~11,700 years ago), humans were adjusting to changing environments from an overall shift in global climate. During this, [...]

By |2017-01-04T18:04:48+03:00March 7th, 2015|Field Schools, Spring 2015|Comments Off on Human activity from the Recent Past

Monkey see, monkey do…monkey is hungry!

In the study of archaeology, interpreting the behavior and lives of early humans and their ancestors is based on an examination of material they left behind.  Guiding the TBI students in their learning this module is Dr. Sonia Harmand, an experienced field archaeologist with expertise on early stone tools. But why would anyone study stone [...]

By |2017-01-04T18:04:48+03:00March 2nd, 2015|Field Schools, Spring 2015|Comments Off on Monkey see, monkey do…monkey is hungry!

Lothagam – a geologist’s wonderland

Lothagam- basaltic lava flows, lahars, faulting, volcanic ash, erosion, river channel deposits, muddy floodplains and ancient soils, lake deposits, shell beds, oyster reefs, more volcanic ash, more faults, more erosion, more deposition, and so much more! Day 1 Dylan's gazes out of the lowry as we approach Lothagam. Camping spot. [...]

By |2017-01-04T18:04:48+03:00February 28th, 2015|Field Schools, Spring 2015|Comments Off on Lothagam – a geologist’s wonderland

Lakes in the Turkana Basin – past, present, and future

When the Turkana Basin was not dominated by river systems, the rock record indicates several paleo-lakes occupied the region and sometimes reached over 100 kilometers away from the present lake margin. Instead of just recording the depositional environments that have occurred, a field geologist will try to determine the causes of such changes in order [...]

By |2017-01-04T18:04:48+03:00February 25th, 2015|Field Schools, Spring 2015|Comments Off on Lakes in the Turkana Basin – past, present, and future
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