Renowned paleontologist Kamoya Kimeu died on July 23 after a brief illness. He was credited with many noteworthy hominid discoveries, including a nearly complete Homo erectus skeleton dubbed Turkana Boy, and was most well-known for his paleontological work with the Leakey family, who brought the field of paleoanthropology to a new level through their work in East Africa. Though Kimeu’s exact age was unknown, he was believed to be roughly 82 years old.
Kimeu, the son of a goat farmer, grew up in southeast Kenya. He received a primary school education before abandoning his studies once he was old enough to help with his father’s work. A polyglot, he learned several languages, including English, that would eventually serve him well when working with scientists from around the world.
Kimeu’s trajectory shifted when famous paleontologist Louis Leakey sought out Kenyan locals to help search for fossils in 1960. Eschewing superstitions about ...
