Question

How did the work of Mary Leakey contribute to our knowledge of early hominids and an understanding of human evolution?

Answer 1

Answer:

M.Leakey was a paleoanthropologist of  no formal  university education and British origin. Her major discoveries  were;

1. the proconsul skull

2. Zinjanthropus skull at Olduvai Gorge In Tanzania

3, system of classification of discovered stones.

4.Laetoli footprints at Laetoli sites.

However, her most outstanding  discoveries were proconsul skull (  projecting  face with no browridges, and presence of ape-like teeth shapes) and the Laetoli prints. She believed the skull belonged to ancestral Homo habilis, which  could be traced to origin of mankind.

The discovery of Laetoli  prints showed evidences of bipedalism and the origin  of Australopithecus. These prints and  the  skeletons she unearthed  proved that the ancestral of human race actually walked upright, nearly four feet tall in height.Hence she concluded that these prints actually belong to  the Australopithecus. This  brought a paradigm shift in modern understanding of human evolution of prehistoric times and the origin of  mankind,

Her discoveries generally  throw light on the evolution of mankind and  new understanding of genesis of human race

Explanation: