This animated short video illustrates the life and work of paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey, including her discovery of the Laetoli footprints.

The video uses animated paper puppets and narration by experts in the field to cover many highlights of Mary Leakey’s career. Forty years ago in Laetoli, Tanzania, a team of paleontologists led by Leakey discovered a set of 3.6-million-year-old fossil footprints of early hominins — likely our ancestors. Leakey described the discovery of the Laetoli footprints as one of her most important fossil finds.

An audio descriptive version of the film is available via our media player.