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calarco 's review for:
Disclosing the Past
by Mary Leakey
When I was in college and just beginning to learn about anthropology and archaeology, I had one professor who would basically use the last five-ten minutes of class to share “crazy” fieldwork stories. These included seasons he spent with others in the field, including a couple of the Leakeys. This professor was not someone who took life (or people) seriously, but his recollections of Mary Leakey were nevertheless steeped in reverence. Decades later, he was still dumbfounded by how laser focused someone could be on their fieldwork while chain smoking and giving zero fucks.
I always felt lucky to get to study a field with prominent founding mothers like Mary Leakey, and so getting to read her own recollections in [b:Disclosing the Past|2836194|Disclosing the Past|Mary Leakey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387666561l/2836194._SX50_.jpg|1310102] felt like an extra special treat. She truly was a gruff individual who favored the vigor of fieldwork over the diplomacy of being a famous name. In addition to covering her major fieldwork in East Africa, the book also covers the details of her partnership with Louis Leakey, as well as the work of her sons (including Richard). Most interesting, was reading about her fieldwork in Laetoli, especially as this happened after the death of her husband.
Laetoli is a prominent discovery in that it revealed that early hominids developed bipedalism before developing large brains. Prior to this point that had been much back and forth in the anthropological community over which had developed first. Mary Leakey, a pragmatic soul who favored the concrete evidence of fieldwork over theoretical approaches—really nails down the value of this approach in plain language and backs it up with the fruit of decades of work.
I’m undoubtedly biased, but Mary Leakey really was an interesting figure who deserves to have respect put on her name. This book was great, and one I would recommend to anyone studying archaeology, anthropology, or looking to learn about prominent women in science.
I always felt lucky to get to study a field with prominent founding mothers like Mary Leakey, and so getting to read her own recollections in [b:Disclosing the Past|2836194|Disclosing the Past|Mary Leakey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387666561l/2836194._SX50_.jpg|1310102] felt like an extra special treat. She truly was a gruff individual who favored the vigor of fieldwork over the diplomacy of being a famous name. In addition to covering her major fieldwork in East Africa, the book also covers the details of her partnership with Louis Leakey, as well as the work of her sons (including Richard). Most interesting, was reading about her fieldwork in Laetoli, especially as this happened after the death of her husband.
Laetoli is a prominent discovery in that it revealed that early hominids developed bipedalism before developing large brains. Prior to this point that had been much back and forth in the anthropological community over which had developed first. Mary Leakey, a pragmatic soul who favored the concrete evidence of fieldwork over theoretical approaches—really nails down the value of this approach in plain language and backs it up with the fruit of decades of work.
I’m undoubtedly biased, but Mary Leakey really was an interesting figure who deserves to have respect put on her name. This book was great, and one I would recommend to anyone studying archaeology, anthropology, or looking to learn about prominent women in science.