Animated Life: Mary Leakey

Forty years ago in Laetoli, Tanzania, an elephant dung fight between a couple of paleoanthropologists led to a discovery: a fossilized animal print, at least 3.6 million years old. But the site had an even bigger surprise in store. After years of excavation, the team discovered the unmistakable footprints of early hominids — possible human ancestors.

 The crew was part of an archaeological dig led by Mary Leakey, the pioneering subject of this Op-Doc video who died 19 years ago, on Dec. 9, 1996. [...] The New York Times