Paleoanthropologist Veronica Waweru, senior lecturer in the MacMillan Center’s Council on African Studies, has developed a unique community excavation initiative in East Africa. Waweru (pictured above, at left) collaborated with US and Kenyan institutions and locals in studying evolutionary development rooted in East Africa.

Her work uniquely examined evolution in an under researched part of the Kenyan tropical highlands and included locals as excavators and co-producers of knowledge. Prior experience was not a barrier to joining the team; everyone was welcomed to claim ownership of the scientific history of their home. By collaborating with local communities, Waweru’s project, advanced African participation in the continent’s rich evolutionary history.  

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To learn more, visit the MacMillan Center website.