The sixth and final week of the Harvard Summer Program in Kenya began with a day of R&R back at the Eliye Springs Resort on the shores of Lake Turkana, about 10 kilometers from the TBI camp. Monday, July 8th began with a lecture by Emmanuel about primate evolution and anatomy, and in the afternoon, there was a lecture and discussion led by Dr. Dan Lieberman, a human evolutionary biologist from Harvard University who takes an evolutionary approach to human anatomy and physiology.
On Tuesday, students spent more time in class with Dr. Lieberman, where they learned about early hominins such as Australopithecus afarensis (of which the famous fossil “Lucy” was a member) and the revolutionary rise of the genus Homo. In the evening, the group was visited by Dr. Louise Leaky, who gave a talk on paleoanthropology in Kenya.
After lectures from Dr. Lieberman and Medina the following morning, the students went out for a flagging excursion at nearby Aiyangiyang. That evening, the group packed up for a day trip beginning the following morning for the nearby site of Topernawi, which has great geological significance and is located in the Turkana Basin.
The trip also included a visit to a second site called Locherangan, where the group learned about Oligocene geology and paleontology. Students visited a local maternity clinic on the morning of Friday, July 12th, and in the afternoon Medina led a part II of her stone toolmaking workshop, and then the group went out for a game of soccer at Kangetetai.
The next day was the last full day at TBI. Students had the morning to work on their final papers, and after they were submitted, they went out for one final goat roast with the local community. Everyone packed up and departed camp early the following morning to fly from Lodwar to Nairobi, and there was a dinner in the capital city before students flew home on July 15th.
