PhD candidate Alyssa Enny awarded Leakey Foundation Research Grant

PhD candidate Alyssa Enny was awarded a Leakey Foundation Research Grant for her project titled: “Pleistocene hominin evolution and aquatic resources at Koobi Fora, Kenya.” Her research seeks to discover how aquatic animals, like fish and freshwater turtles, could have been an important part of early human (hominin) diets. She studies this by examining the bones of aquatic animals found near areas of hominin activity to understand how hominins may have used these resources and how this could have influenced the evolution of our species, Homo sapiens. Aquatic animals, especially fish, are rich in nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, which are critical for brain development and function. Studying early aquatic resource use will give us a deeper understanding of how diet shaped our evolutionary path.