Olorgesailie Field Team Summer 2004
Since 1985, researchers from diverse fields have come to Olorgesailie, Kenya, through the collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museums of Kenya, in an effort to better understand the habitat in which our early human ancestors evolved. An understanding of habitat, and human interaction with it, is crucial to the better understanding of what it is that makes us human.
This section is intended to give you the opportunity to get to know the lives and interests of the people who make up our research team.
Alison Brooks
Alison is a paleoanthropologist and Paleolithic archaeologist who has worked at numerous localities in Africa and in northern China.
Anna K. ("Kay") Behrensmeyer
Kay is a Research Curator in the NMNH Department of Paleobiology, co-directs the Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems Program, and studies geological context at Olorgesailie.
Jennifer Clark
Jenny's official title is Museum Specialist, but she’s really a generalist; she does lab management, administration, logistics, photography, illustration, and research.
Rick Potts
Paleoanthropologist Rick Potts founded and currently directs the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program and is curator of anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History.
John Yellen
John's research focuses on the processes which led to the emergence of behaviorally modern humans.