State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

archaeology2

  • Photo Essay: Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Photo Essay: Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    East Africa’s rift valley is considered by many to be the cradle of humanity. In the Turkana region of northwest Kenya, researchers Christopher Lepre and Tanzhuo Liu of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are cooperating with colleagues to study questions of human evolution, from the creation of the earliest stone tools to climate swings that…

  • Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Who were our earliest ancestors? How and when did they evolve into modern humans? And how do we define “human,” anyway? Scientists are exploring Kenya’s Lake Turkana basin to help answer these questions.

  • Scientists Discover World’s Oldest Stone Tools

    Finds Challenge Ideas about Who Were the First Toolmakers

  • Ancestors

    Ancestors

    We are high mountain people, hunters and artists, Our view from this base camp is brilliant and clear. Cold, thin air sweeps the rocky plateau; You need a strong heart to live here.

  • The New World

    The New World

    On a man in the mountains, dusk falls; Shadows seep upward and spread. Scaling the black, chiseled walls, He silently seeks the dead.

  • Photo Essay: Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Photo Essay: Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    East Africa’s rift valley is considered by many to be the cradle of humanity. In the Turkana region of northwest Kenya, researchers Christopher Lepre and Tanzhuo Liu of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are cooperating with colleagues to study questions of human evolution, from the creation of the earliest stone tools to climate swings that…

  • Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Seeking Humanity’s Roots

    Who were our earliest ancestors? How and when did they evolve into modern humans? And how do we define “human,” anyway? Scientists are exploring Kenya’s Lake Turkana basin to help answer these questions.

  • Scientists Discover World’s Oldest Stone Tools

    Finds Challenge Ideas about Who Were the First Toolmakers

  • Ancestors

    Ancestors

    We are high mountain people, hunters and artists, Our view from this base camp is brilliant and clear. Cold, thin air sweeps the rocky plateau; You need a strong heart to live here.

  • The New World

    The New World

    On a man in the mountains, dusk falls; Shadows seep upward and spread. Scaling the black, chiseled walls, He silently seeks the dead.