Week five of the Harvard Summer Program in Kenya began on Sunday, June 30th: our first full day back at TBI after the Lothagam visit. On Sundays, breakfast is served at 8:00am instead of 6:30am. Students had the morning to relax and/or work on readings, and some of us purchased merchandise that had been laid…
Medina Lubisia
Medina served as a teaching assistant during the 2024 season of the Harvard Summer Program in Kenya. She received a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Nairobi in 2018 and a Master of Science degree in Human Evolutionary Biology from Turkana University College in 2024. She is an affiliate of the Turkana Basin…
Horse Burials at an Ancient Nubian Cemetary
In 1919, an ancient horse cemetery was discovered at the site of El-Kurru in modern-day Sudan. Of the 24 burial pits, four were found to have nearly complete horse skeletons. Two of these skeletons, labeled Ku. 211 and Ku. 212, were transported to Harvard University, where they are being studied by ASPR affiliate Dr. Shayla…
Ben LeBuhn
My name is Ben LeBuhn and I am an undergraduate student studying Integrative Biology with a secondary in History. Currently, I am hoping to continue my education by attending medical school. With the support of ASPR, I participated in the Harvard summer program in Kenya this past summer. As a part of this program I…
Aoron Eipa Emmanuel
Born and raised in Turkana County, Kenya, Emmanuel has been a member of Harvard University’s Human Evolutionary Biology department since 2022, and he worked as a teaching assistant for the 2024 season of the Harvard Summer Program in Kenya. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Egerton University, a master’s degree in…
Harvard Summer Program in Kenya: Week Four
The fourth week of the Harvard Summer Program in Kenya began with a day of rest and relaxation at Eliye Springs Resort on the western shores of Lake Turkana. Students swam, roasted coffee, and pet kittens, and a few of us bought handmade baskets after finding a group of people selling them nearby. For lunch,…
Harvard Summer Program in Kenya: Week Three
Tuesday began with the students’ last Swahili class, which was followed by a lecture by Dr. Green on global warming. We learned about international treaties and agreements, including the UNFCCC, The Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, which aim to reduce global emissions. After a quick tea break, the class reconvened for a discussion about…
Harvard Summer Program in Kenya: Week Two
After a rest day on Sunday, June 9th, Monday began with a Swahili lesson followed by the introduction of a new module on infectious diseases. Dr. Jon Epstein, an infectious disease specialist who works at EcoHealth Alliance in New York City and who spent a few days with us at Mpala, gave a lecture on…
Harvard Summer Program in Kenya: Week One
The Harvard Summer Program in Kenya commenced on the morning of June 1, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. There are 16 students in the program, 9 of whom are Harvard University undergraduates, 1 of whom is a graduate student from China, and 5 of whom are students from Kenya at various stages in their academic careers….
Sara Zaia
“I recently obtained my PhD in Archaeology in the Anthropology Department presenting a dissertation involving the use of geospatial techniques in the study of people’s movement across foreign landscapes and the identification of commercial pharaonic routes connecting Egypt to eastern Sudan. The study of such routes aimed to infer the development of complexity in Egypt…