Dinosaurs | Egypt | Mesopotamia |Human Ancestors

Leakey Ancestors
The first exhibit in the In Hand Museum, this series of half-size skulls and fossil replicas aims to provide basic information about the various different species and the more significant fossils that play a part in the evolutionary history of modern humans. The series includes four extinct species, Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus boisei, Homo erectus, and Homo neanderthalensis, as well as three modern skulls for comparison; the sole surviving species in our own lineage, Homo sapiens, and two African apes, Gorilla gorilla (the lowland gorilla) and Pan troglodytes (the chimpanzee). Additional skulls and other fossils will be added to the series in the future. Each object is a scaled down but accurate replica. Information relating to the discovery, classification, time of existence, and significance is provided in an easy to read, attractively illustrated format.

The web site offers detailed information on paleoanthropology in general, and early hominid finds in particular. The information is layered, but there will be a complete page for each species--right now H. ergaster and A. boisei and A. afarensis are fairly complete, but there are only a few paragraphs on each of the other species right now. This will be updated at frequent intervals until the baseline site is completed. Also, a number of new replicas will be available shortly, and details about each will be added here as they are released.

Click on the genus or grouping you want more information on.

About the replicas

Each replica was sculpted by Dr. Stephen Wagner, a scientific sculptor, under the guidance of Dr. Meave Leakey. The master pattern is then molded in a soft rubber using techniques derived from the science of museum preparation (our molds are just as good, but we need to do things a little differently so that we can make many casts instead of just a few). Casts are poured in urethane resin by hand, then finished and shipped to customers.

New replicas will include exacting copies of actual specimens in the same 1:2 scale used for the restorations. In the works are, KNM-ER 1470, KNM-ER 3733, OH-24, STS-5, and several more shortly afterwards.

About the site

Our site uses frames--a non-frames version will be made available in the future. We don't use frames the way they are typically used, and we suggest you at least give them a try even if you are not a fan of frames. We use a frame on the left as a Glossary and Asides area. That way you may look up a highlighted word without losing your place. Links from the Gloassary either stay within that frame, or open a new window, again, so you don't loose your place.

Each specimen has an associated web site dedicated to it. The pages are all cross-referenced, so you can get to most species from any given page, or at most two clicks--or you can always pop back to the home page to get to the table of contents. As specimens are added, or new information uncovered, the site will be updated. The content was created by Dr. Leakey and Ants. Enjoy!

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