"Lend me the stone strength of the past and I will lend you the wings of the future, for I have them." -Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962)



The Stone Age Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3), independent research center dedicated to the archaeological study of human origins and technological development. International in scope, the purpose of the Stone Age Institute is to advance research and education in human origins studies, including fellowship support to visiting scholars, publication of books and articles, mentoring the next generation of scientists drawn from global talent and intellect, and educational outreach to the general public. Stone Age Institute funding provides support to in-house researchers and staff, enhances laboratories and research projects, enables the Institute to host visiting scientists, and sponsors lecture programs and education initiatives.


Although the Stone Age Institute is an autonomous research organization, it has strong ties with Indiana University, especially CRAFT (the Center for Research into the Anthropological Foundations of Technology) and the Human Evolutionary Studies Program, both of which are also co-directed by Indiana University Anthropology Professors Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth. Presently, Institute scientists have a number of research projects underway, including work at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, and the Nihewan Basin, China, research with primates, brain imaging and biomechanics. The Institute is also involved with informal science education programs such as the educational website From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web and science education songs performed by The Stone Age Institute Band.


The facility includes a world-class research library on early prehistory and an extensive artifact collection donated by the late J. Desmond Clark, professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, the library collections of Alan Walker, professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University have been donated to the Stone Age Institute’s growing resources.