Episode 24: Ancestor
Just recently, the news media announced the discovery of a 13 million-year-old fossil ape called Alesi. This remarkable fossil was found in Kenya, and it’s from a time period where there’s a big blank spot in the fossil record of our family tree. Alesi tells us something new about the very early evolution of apes and even shows what the common ancestor of humans and all the other living apes might have looked like. In this episode, Isaiah Nengo tells the story behind the discovery.
Special thanks to Isaiah Nengo of the Stony Brook University affiliated Turkana Basin Institute and De Anza College. And Ellen Miller of Wake Forest University.
The Leakey Foundation
Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support this show and the science we talk about with a tax-deductible donation.
Links
Click here to see photos of the discovery, along with a 3D animation of the inside of the fossil.
New 13 million-year-old infant fossil ape skull sheds light on ape evolution
Questions and answers about Alesi
Skull secrets of an ancient ape
Research article in Nature: New infant cranium from the African Miocene sheds light on ape evolution
Credits
Produced by: Meredith Johnson and Shuka Kalantari
Editor: Julia Barton
Sound Design: Katie McMurran
Theme Music: Henry Nagle
Intern: Yuka Oiwa
Additional Music: Tech Toys by Lee Rosevere
Sponsors
This season of Origin Stories is made possible by support from Dixon Long.
Transcripts are provided by Adept Word Management. They are a small, family-run business based in Houston, Texas. They have been long-time supporters of this show, and they were impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Please visit Adept Word Management for your transcription needs.
Get Social
We'd love to connect with you on Twitter and Facebook. Please say hi and let us know what you think of the show!
If you like the show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. It's the best way to help other people find the show and we really appreciate it.
