The world lost one of its greatest scientists and humanists last week. Dr. Jane Goodall transformed our understanding of what it means to be human  helping us understand that we are not that as unique a species as we once thought, that our primate relatives have complex cognitive (especially communication) skills much like  and expanding our understanding of ourselves and our humanity.

At the Heritage Management Organization, we pay tribute to Dr. Goodall’s life and work with profound respect and gratitude. Our organization’s long-standing engagement with Rwandan heritage professionals, and our deep interest in the history of archaeology and heritage studies as a discipline, make this moment of remembrance especially meaningful.

Below you can watch Dr. Goodall about her work in An Oral History of Primatology, part of the Personal Histories project.

The Personal Histories Project  (2006 to 2016) was created by Pamela Jane Smith a researcher at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.  The Project was entirely student-led and funded by donations. The 2011 audio was transcribed by Cambridge undergraduates, Hannah Sainsbury, Jamie Cameron and David Kay and the 2011 film was created by film students from Goldsmith’s London, Emily Sue Shimada, Sarah McEvoy and Kostas Chrondros.

Dr. Jane Goodall with the Personal Histories team