page_title: History of anthropology by country
section_title: British and German Studies
hierarchical_section_title: History of anthropology by country / East Africa / Kenya / British and German Studies
caption_attribution_description: British archeologist and anthropologist Mary Douglas Nicol Leakey (1913-1996) and her husband Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey (1903-1972), 1962. Cite as: Acc. 90-105 - Science Service, Records, 1920s-1970s, Smithsonian Institution Archives Persistent URL:Link to data base record
context_page_description: Anthropology is the study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies. This study is practiced in multiple countries, each of whom has their own history of how anthropology has developed in their respective countries.
context_section_description: The majority of British, as well as German, anthropologists dominated Kenya with their studies focusing solely on the groups of people who were considered to be distinct, or “otherly”. While some anthropologists studied these groups in order to achieve dominance over them, other anthropologists reasoned studying the communities for educational purposes before their culture no longer existed due to colonizing. Thus, causing a means for Kenya anthropologists to disassociate with colonialism because of its harsh effects on Africans and their culture. This forced the local anthropologists to rethink about socio-cultural studies, including their own discipline and how it aided in colonialism. Even Jomo Kenyatta, who had benefited from his education and studies, was struggling with the decision on whether to associate with the discipline anymore.
  Louis Leakey aided in bringing archaeology and physical anthropology to light in Kenya. He work as a curator in the Coryndon Memorial Museum, which is an important establishment that helps to keep excavation sites accessible, such as Koobi Fora, Olorgesailie, and the Hyrax Hill, to both local and foreign archaeologists. In the 1950s, alongside his wife, Leakey found various primate fossils, including those of Australopithecus Boisei (1959), Homo Habilis (1964), and Kenyapithecus (1967). In 1960, he established the Institute of Primate Research (IPR) which helped in comprehending human evolution and biomedical research for health challenges in Africa, such as HIV/AIDS.
caption: Louis Leakey and wife Mary
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