Fredrick Kyalo Manthi

Prehistory research in Africa has yielded an unmatched record that has contributed significantly to understanding the evolutionary history of many faunal species. The human fossil material recovered from many African sites has, particularly, placed the region as the birth place for humanity. Work to unearth more material to help bridge gaps in the human evolutionary tree continues to date. This work involves Principal Investigator/s (PI/s) and a host of research assistants. Research assistants play very significant roles in the successful completion of the projects. They, among other things, carry-out excavations and find the many fossils and artifacts recovered during the field seasons. Despite the important role that they play, they are inadequately recognized. Much of the credit has been accorded to the PIs who are occasionally not physically involved in the discovery of the materials. In order to celebrate African research assistants, I propose to organize a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, that will bring together research assistants from across Africa. The event will take place in July 2016 and will also bring together prominent scientists in prehistory research from across the World, who will also share their experiences with invited guests and some Kenyan high school and university students.