Photo: Deming Yang The ecology module has ended. The next module, Geology, has started. Dr Craig Feibel and Dr. Bob Raynolds are the instructors taking the students through the geological history of the Turkana Basin. The students are spending time in the lab learning about rocks. They are also going out into the [...]
Since their arrival at TBI-Ileret, students have continued to expand their understanding of ecological research methods. Here, they have also been introduced to new TAs, the Dassenatch people, and more heat than they were accustomed to at Mpala. They all are adjusting really well to this new environment which is great since this will be [...]
The field school students have had a very busy week at the Mpala Research Center. The center is a hub for scientific research on East African Ecology and stretches over 48,000 acres of land. In this one area we were able to see examples of savanna, woodland, bushland, riverine and rocky escarpment habitats, all full [...]
Welcome to the Origins Field School blog Spring 2018! My name is Deming Yang, Resident Academic Director for the field school. I will be accompanying the students, TA’s and instructors throughout all of the field school modules. As part of the Field School support team, I will do my best to make sure that our [...]
The students, staff, and Tom! During the final few days of the TBI Origins Summer Field School, Dr. Sonia Harmand joined our students for an intensive introduction to Earlier Stone Age archaeology in the Turkana Basin. Dr. Harmand and SBU post-doctoral researcher Dr. Nicholas Taylor led everyone in a practical lesson on stone [...]
Students have been working on their research projects at the TBI Turkwel campus under supervision of Dr. Jason Lewis. One group of students has been drilling modern and fossil teeth to obtain samples that will be analyzed to examine stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios. These data help to reconstruct what kind of plants the [...]
Ryan and Morgan at the Napudet Hills (photo credit: Dorien de Vries). Dr. Craig Feibel talks about the geological setting of the Miocene deposits in the Napudet Hills (photo credit: Dorien de Vries). Last Sunday, the students joined another group of visitors (part of the Academic Safari program hosted by TBI) [...]
As a reward for their hard work in the field, the group spent last Sunday in the nearby town of Lodwar. Lodwar is the closest population center, and it is growing in size every day. The students enjoyed milkshakes at the Diner and some shopping for traditional trinkets like handmade baskets, kikois, and beaded jewelry. [...]