An illustration of Zinjanthropus by Peter V. Bianchi
It was 50 years ago in Olduvai Gorge that Louis and Mary Leakey found fragments of teeth and a skull that were part of a male hominid they called Zinjanthropus, or Nutcracker Man, because of his huge teeth. This led to field research programs in Ethiopia and Kenya, the findings of which now dominate discussions of human evolution. To celebrate this occasion, on September 30, 2009, Richard Leakey will be leading a symposium at the Rockefeller University that will examine the development of scientific prehistory research in East Africa since the discovery of the Zinjanthropus fossil.