the Jane Goodall Institute

Today, July 14, 2010, marks the 50th anniversary of the day that Jane first stepped onto the shores of Lake Tanganyika to begin her pioneering chimpanzee research in what is now Gombe National Park. To celebrate this tremendous milestone, Jane is spending the month of July in Africa including time in Gombe, the site of her groundbreaking field study. Jane will enjoy today reflecting and celebrating with local members of Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots.

A fossil discovery described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is inconsistent with common notions that our direct evolutionary ancestors looked more like chimpanzees or gorillas than humans.

Like the famous "Lucy," this fossil, dubbed "Big Man," is Australopithecus afarensis, a bipedal primate and direct ancestor of humans. Big Man stood about 5'5," had legs that would have been good for running, and had a rib cage similar to our own. He was much taller than Lucy.