[lee-kee] 
| 1. | Louis Seymour Baz⋅ett [baz-it] , 1903–72, British archaeologist and anthropologist. |
| 2. | Mary (Douglas), 1913–96, British archaeologist (wife of Louis Leakey). |
| 3. | their son, Richard (Erskine Frere) [freer] , born 1944, Kenyan paleontologist and animal-rights activist. |
| Lea·key (lē'kē) British anthropologist and archaeologist. Based on a series of fossil discoveries in Tanzania made largely by his wife, Mary Leakey (1913-1996), including early australopithecine and hominid skulls, he argued influentially that humans had evolved in Africa. Their son Richard Leakey (born 1944) has continued their research. |
A family of anthropologists whose work at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and elsewhere revealed that humans probably first evolved in Africa. Louis Leakey and his wife, Mary, discovered fossils of human ancestors dating back over 3.75 million years. Their son, Richard Leakey, continued to make discoveries in Kenya and Tanzania.
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