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The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge in
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
is one of the most important
paleoanthropological Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship ...
localities in the world; the many sites exposed by the gorge have proven invaluable in furthering understanding of early
human evolution Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of '' Homo sapiens'' as a distinct species of the hominid family, which includes the great apes. This process involved the gradual developmen ...
. A steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley that stretches across East Africa, it is about long, and is located in the eastern
Serengeti Plains The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves. The Serengeti ...
within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the Olbalbal ward located in Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region, about from Laetoli, another important archaeological locality of early human occupation. The British/Kenyan paleoanthropologist-archeologist team of Mary and Louis Leakey established excavation and research programs at Olduvai Gorge that achieved great advances in human knowledge and are world-renowned. The site is registered as one of the
National Historic Sites of Tanzania National Historic Sites of Tanzania is an official list of places in Tanzania that have been designated as National Historic Sites as per the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism of Tanzania under the Antiquities Division. The list is not co ...
. The gorge takes its name from the Maasai word ''oldupai'' which means "the place of the wild sisal" as the East African wild sisal ('' Sansevieria ehrenbergii'') grows abundantly throughout the gorge area. Twenty-five kilometers downstream of Lake Ndutu and Lake Masek, the gorge cuts into
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
lake bed
sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand ...
s up to a depth of 90 m. A side gorge, originating from Lemagrut Mountain, joins the main gorge 8 km from the mouth. This side gorge follows the shoreline of a prehistoric lake, rich in fossils and early hominin sites. Periodic flows of
volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...
from Olmoti and Kerimasi helped to ensure preservation of the fossils in the gorge. The locality is significant in showing the increasing developmental and social complexities in the earliest Hominina, largely revealed in the production and use of stone tools. Prior to tools, evidence of scavenging and
hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
can be noted—highlighted by the presence of gnaw marks that predate cut marks—and of the ratio of meat versus plant material in the early hominin diet. The collecting of tools and animal remains in a centralised area is evidence of developing social interaction and communal activity. All these factors indicate an increase in cognitive capacities at the beginning of the period of hominids transitioning to homininina—that is, to human clade. '' Homo habilis'', probably the first early human species, occupied Olduvai Gorge approximately 1.9 million years ago (mya); then came a contemporary
australopithecine Australopithecina or Hominina is a subtribe in the tribe Hominini. The members of the subtribe are generally ''Australopithecus'' ( cladistically including the genera ''Homo'', '' Paranthropus'', and ''Kenyanthropus''), and it typically inclu ...
, '' Paranthropus boisei'', 1.8 mya, followed by '' Homo erectus'', 1.2 mya. Our species ''
Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture ...
'', which is estimated to have emerged roughly 300,000 years ago, is thought to have occupied sites in the gorge by 17,000 years ago.


History


Discovery and research

While travelling in German East Africa in 1911 to investigate sleeping sickness, German physician and
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
Wilhelm Kattwinkel visited Olduvai Gorge, where he observed many
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
bones of an extinct three-toed horse. Inspired by Kattwinkel's discovery, German
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
Hans Reck Hans Gottfried Reck (24 January 1886 – 4 August 1937) was a German volcanologist and paleontologist. In 1913 he was the first to discover an ancient skeleton of a human in the Olduvai Gorge, in what is now Tanzania. He collaborated with ...
led a team to Olduvai in 1913. There, he found hominin remains which were later radiocarbon dated to 17,000 BP. Four more expeditions were planned, but
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
prevented their start. After the war, as Tanganyika came under British control, Louis Leakey visited Reck in Berlin and viewed the Olduvai fossils. Louis Leakey became convinced that Olduvai Gorge held stone tools, thinking the deposits were of similar age to the Kariandusi prehistoric site in Kenya. Reck and the
paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
Donald McInnes accompanied Louis Leakey in his 1931 expedition, where Louis found a number of
hand axe A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually flint or ...
s close to camp soon after their arrival. Mary Leakey first visited the area in 1935, joining Louis and
Percy Edward Kent Sir Percy Edward Kent (18 March 1913 – 9 July 1986) was a British geologist who won the Royal Medal in 1971. Awarded the Bigsby Medal in 1955 and the Murchison Medal in 1969, he was made a Knight Bachelor in the 1973 Birthday Honours The Qu ...
. Subsequent visits were made by the Leakeys in 1941, 1953, 1955 and 1957. Louis and Mary Leakey are responsible for most of the excavations and discoveries of the hominin fossils in Olduvai Gorge. In July 1959, at the FLK site (the initials of the person who discovered it
Frida Leakey Henrietta Wilfrida "Frida" Leakey (née Avern; 1902 – 19 August 1993), also known as H. Wilfrida Leakey, was a British teacher who discovered a gorge that was named FLK or "Frida Leakey Korongo". The gorge was the site of ancient stone tools a ...
, and K for ''korongo'', the
Swahili language Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Sw ...
word for gully), Mary Leakey found the skull of ''
Zinjanthropus ''Paranthropus boisei'' is a species of australopithecine from the Early Pleistocene of East Africa about 2.5 to 1.15 million years ago. The holotype specimen, OH 5, was discovered by palaeoanthropologist Mary Leakey in 1959, and described by h ...
'' or '' Australopithecus boisei''. In addition to an abundance of faunal remains the Leakeys found stone tools Mary classified as Oldowan. In May 1960, at the FLK North-North site, the Leakeys' son Jonathan found the
mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...
that proved to be the
type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...
for ''Homo habilis''.


Archaeology and geology


Hans Reck and Richard Hay

While Hans Reck was the first geologist to attempt to understand the geology of the gorge, current understanding of the geology of the stratigraphic sequence of Olduvai Gorge was made possible in large part by the efforts of geologist Richard Hay. Hay spent twelve years studying the geology at Olduvai, much of it working along with Mary Leakey, finally formulating a detailed picture of the geologic history of the area. Hay's seminal work ''The Geology of the Olduvai Gorge'' was published in 1976. Reck identified five main layers of deposition in the gorge, which were labelled Beds I through V, with Bed I being the oldest and lowest in the sequence. Hay and other geologists working at the gorge since Reck's time have utilized Reck's original Bed outline, adding clarity, detail, and corrections to achieve a more thorough understanding of gorge history. Reck's original Bed IV interval was later distinguished as consisting of Bed IV and the Masek Beds, while Bed V has been reclassified as the Ndutu Bed and the Naisiuiu Bed.


Gorge Stratigraphy

The stratigraphic sequence in the gorge is up to 90 m thick, with a
welded tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...
, the Naabi ignimbrite, forming the base. This is overlain by a series of lava flows from Olmoti and from another source to the south. The oldest fossils are found on this surface, dated at 1.89 mya, while stone tools have been dated at 1.7 mya through the first use of K-Ar dating by Garniss Curtis. In addition, fission track dating and paleomagnetism were used to date the deposits, while amino acid dating and
Carbon-14 dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was d ...
were used to date the bones. Hominid fossils and stone tools are found continuously throughout the entire exposed sequence in the gorge. Faulting between 100 and 30 kya, formed the Olbalbal Depression northwest of Ngorongoro.


Bed I

The 20–46 m thick Lower Pleistocene Bed I sediments overlying the Naabi ignimbrite consist of layers of Olmoti tuff and lake sediment claystone. Four well-preserved living sites of note are located within Bed I, the FLK and FLK North-North sites mentioned above, plus DK and FLK North. The DK site (Donald McInnes' first initial plus k for ''korongo'') has what Leakey considers to be a stone circle, and also many tools and fossil bones ranging in age from 1.75 mya to 1.9 mya.


Bed II

Bed II consists of 21–35 m of
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...
and
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
Olduvai Lake and stream deposits. Manuports are abundant at the MNK (Mark Nicol Korongo) site in addition to a
chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a ...
nodule quarry containing over 14,000 pieces, including
gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...
and lava anvils and
hammerstone In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the wor ...
s. Hand axes were found at the EF-HR (Evelyn Fuchs-Hans Reck) and TK (Thiongo Korongo) sites. The BK (Bell's Korongo) site contained an ''Australopithecus boisei''
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
molar and
canine Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae ** ''Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Dog, the domestic dog * Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy People with the surn ...
.


Bed III

The distinctly red Bed III consists of 6–10 m of clays, sandstones and
conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** ...
s signifying variable lake depths. Few fossils are present and only isolated stone tools, indicating a sparse early man presence.


Bed IV

Bed IV is a distinctly different unit from Bed II in the eastern portion of the gorge. There, it is 5–8 m thick and composed of clays, and stream deposited sandstones and conglomerates. Four distinct tool-bearing levels are evident, including 500 handaxes and
cleavers ''Galium aparine'', with common names including cleavers, clivers, catchweed and sticky willy among others, is an annual, herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae. Names ''Galium aparine'' is known by a variety of common names in English. They ...
at the HK (Hopwood's Korongo) site, while phonolite handaxes and an elephant bone handaxe were found at the HEB (Heberer's Gully) site. The WK (Wayland's Korongo) site contained a ''Homo erectus'' pelvis and femur.


Masek beds

The Masek Beds are composed of two episodes of aeolian ash from Kerimasi. A number of
quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...
handaxes were found in this layer at the FLK site. Dunes formed after the deposition of
Oldonyo Lengai Ol Doinyo Lengai (Oldoinyo Lengai), "Mountain of God" in the Maasai language, is an active volcano located in the Gregory Rift, south of Lake Natron within the Arusha Region of Tanzania, Africa. Part of the volcanic system of the East African Ri ...
tuffs make up the upper portion of the Ndutu Beds, but yield few fossils. Oldonyo Lengai tuffs also make up the Naisiusiu Beds.


Associated fossil species

The few ''Australopithecus boisei'' remains, which include the skull, a thigh bone fragment, and several teeth, were found distributed throughout Beds I and II, which dates them in the range 1.1 to 2 mya. The more common remains of ''Homo habilis'' were found in Bed I and the lower portion of Bed II, which makes them contemporaries of ''Australopithecus boisei''. ''Homo erectus'' remains were found in the upper portions of Bed II, making them contemporaries of ''Australopithecus boisei'', but not of ''Homo habilis''.


The stone tools and their makers

Louis Leakey first described the Oldowan stone tool industry in 1951. The Leakeys determined that choppers were the most common stone tool found at the gorge, amounting to over half of the total number, and identified 11 Oldowan sites in the gorge, 9 in Bed I, and 2 in Bed II. They also identified the Developed Oldowan as the subsequent diverse tool-kit found in Beds II, III, and IV, with small tools made mostly from chert rather than quartzite. These tools are mostly spheroids and sub-spheroids, followed by choppers. Besides the chert quarry in Bed II, the Leakeys were able to identify the other source locations of the principal rocks used to make the stone tools. The most common material was quartzite, which originated from the Naibor Soit Inselberg just north of the gorges. The phonolite originated from the Engelosen volcano 5 km to the north. The gneiss came from the Kelogi inselborg 9 km to the southwest. The first species found by the Leakeys, ''Zinjanthropus boisei'' or ''Australopithecus boisei'' (renamed and still debated as ''Paranthropus boisei''), featured a sagittal crest and large molars. These attributes suggested the species engaged in heavy chewing, indicating a diet of tough plant material, including tubers, nuts, and seeds—and possibly large quantities of
grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns ...
and sedges. Conversely, the Leakeys' 1960s finds presented different characteristics. The skull lacked a sagittal crest and the braincase was much more rounded, suggesting it was not australopithecine. The larger braincase suggested a larger brain capacity than that of ''Australopithecus boisei''. These important differences indicated a different species, which eventually was named ''Homo habilis''. Its larger brain capacity and decreased teeth size pointed to ''Homo'' as the probable toolmaker. The oldest tools at Olduvai, found at the lowest layer and classified as Oldowan, consist of pebbles chipped on one edge. Above this layer, and later in time, are the true hand-axe industries, the
Chellean Abbevillian (formerly also ''Chellean'') is a term for the oldest lithic industry found in Europe, dated to between roughly 600,000 and 400,000 years ago. The original artifacts were collected from road construction sites on the Somme river nea ...
and the Acheulean. Higher still (and later still) are located Levallois artifacts, and finally the
Stillbay The Stillbay (also Still bay) industry is the name given by archaeologists A. J. H. Goodwin and C. van Riet Lowe in 1929 to a Middle Stone Age stone tool manufacturing style after the site of Stilbaai (also called Still Bay) in South Africa where ...
implements. Oldowan tools in general are called "pebble tools" because the blanks chosen by the stone knapper already resembled, in pebble form, the final product. Mary Leakey classified the Oldowan tools according to usage; she developed Oldowan A, B, and C categories, linking them to Modes 1, 2, and 3 assemblages classified according to mode of manufacture. Her work remains a foundation for assessing local, regional, and continental changes in stone tool-making during the early Pleistocene, and aids in assessing which hominins were responsible for the several changes in stone tool technology over time. It is not known for sure which hominin species was first to create Oldowan tools. The emergence of tool culture has also been associated with the pre-''Homo'' species '' Australopithecus garhi'', and its flourishing is associated with the early species ''Homo habilis'' and '' Homo ergaster''. Beginning 1.7 million years ago, early ''Homo erectus'' apparently inherited Oldowan technology and refined it into the Acheulean industry. . Oldowan tools occur in Beds I–IV at Olduvai Gorge. Bed I, dated 1.85 to 1.7 mya, contains Oldowan tools and fossils of ''Paranthropus boisei'' and ''Homo habilis'', as does Bed II, 1.7 to 1.2 mya. ''H. habilis'' gave way to ''Homo erectus'' at about 1.6 mya, but ''P. boisei'' persisted. Oldowan tools continue to Bed IV at 800,000 to 600,000 before present ( BP). A significant change took place between Beds I and II at about 1.5 mya. Flake size increased, the length of bifacial edges (as opposed to single-face edges) occurred more frequently and their length increased, and signs of battering on other artifacts increased. Some likely implications of these factors, among others, are that after this pivotal time hominins used tools more frequently, became better at making tools, and transported tools more often.


Hunters or scavengers?

Though substantial evidence of hunting and scavenging has been discovered at Olduvai Gorge, it is believed by archaeologists that hominins inhabiting the area between 1.9 and 1.7 million years ago spent the majority of their time gathering wild
plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae excl ...
foods, such as
berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, ras ...
, tubers and
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...
s. The earliest hominins most likely did not rely on meat for the bulk of their
nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient ...
. Speculation about the amount of meat in their diets is inferred from comparative studies with a close relative of early hominins: the modern chimpanzee. The chimpanzee's diet in the wild consists of only about five percent as meat. And the diets of modern hunter-gatherers do not include a large amount of meat. That is, most of the
calories The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of ...
in both groups' diets came from plant sources. Thus, it can be assumed that early hominins had similar diet proportions, (see the middle-range theory or bridging arguments—bridging arguments are used by archaeologists to explain past behaviors, and they include an underlying assumption of uniformitarianism.) Much of the information about early hominins comes from tools and debris piles of lithic flakes from such sites as FLK-Zinjanthropus in Olduvai Gorge. Early hominins selected specific types of rocks that would break in a predictable manner when "worked", and carried these rocks from deposits several kilometres away. Archaeologists such as Fiona Marshall fitted rock fragments back together like a puzzle. She states in her article "Life in Olduvai Gorge" that early hominins, "knew the right angle to hit the cobble, or core, in order to successfully produce sharp-edged flakes ...". She noted that selected flakes then were used to cut meat from animal carcasses, and shaped cobbles (called choppers) were used to extract marrow and to chop tough plant material. Bone fragments of birds, fish, amphibians, and large mammals were found at the FLK-Zinj site, many of which were scarred with marks. These likely were made by hominins breaking open the bones for marrow, using tools to strip the meat, or by carnivores having gnawed the bones. Since several kinds of marks are present together, some archaeologists including Lewis Binford think that hominins scavenged the meat or marrow left over from carnivore kills. Others like Henry Bunn believe the hominins hunted and killed these animals, and carnivores later chewed the bones. This issue is still debated today, but archaeologist Pat Shipman provided evidence that scavenging was probably the more common practice; she published that the majority of carnivore teeth marks came before the cut marks. Another finding by Shipman at FLK-Zinj is that many of the
wildebeest Wildebeest ( , , ), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toe ...
bones found there are over-represented by adult and male bones; and this may indicate that hominins were systematically hunting these animals as well as scavenging them. The issue of hunting versus gathering at Olduvai Gorge is still a controversial one.


Hominid fossils found at Olduvai Gorge

* Olduvai Hominid 5 *
Olduvai Hominid 7 OH 7 (Olduvai Hominid № 7), also nicknamed "Johnny's Child", is the type specimen of ''Homo habilis''. The fossils were discovered on November 4, 1960 in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, by Jonathan and Mary Leakey. The remains are dated to approximate ...
*
Olduvai Hominid 8 Olduvai Hominid number 8 (OH 8) is a fossilized foot of an early hominin found in Olduvai Gorge by Louis Leakey in the early 1960s. Kidd et al. (1996) argued that the fossil assemblage exhibits both ape and human characteristics. The lateral si ...
*
Olduvai Hominid 9 Olduvai Hominid number 9 (OH 9) is a fossilized skull cap of an early hominin, found in LLK II, Olduvai Gorge by Louis S. B. Leakey in 1960. It is believed to be ca. 1.4 million years old. Its cranial capacity is estimated at than , the largest v ...
* Olduvai Hominid 24 * Olduvai Hominid 62


Olduvai Gorge monument and museum

In July 2019, the Olduvai Gorge Monument was erected at the turnoff to Olduvai Gorge from the road which connects Ngorongoro Conservation Area and
Serengeti National Park The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located entirely in eastern Mara Region and north east portion of Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established ...
(a route traveled by safari-goers). Eng. Joshua Mwankunda conceived the idea of erecting a monument to commemorate this significant site while also serving as a signpost and attracting visitors to the Olduvai Gorge and museum; paleoanthropologists Nicholas Toth, Kathy Schick, and Jackson Njau planned and provided life-size fossil casts at the request of the Tanzanian government, which were used by the celebrated Tanzanian artist Festo Kijo to create the two large concrete skulls. The monument consists of two large-scale models of fossil skulls which sit atop a large pedestal with an informative plaque mounted on the side of the pedestal. The fossil skulls depicted are ''Paranthropus boisei'' and ''Homo habilis'', two contemporary species which were first discovered at Olduvai Gorge. The large-scale models created by Kijo are each 6 feet tall and weigh 5,000 pounds. The monument project was funded by the Stone Age Institute and the John Templeton Foundation, in partnership with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA). The Olduvai Gorge Museum, located 5 km beyond the monument, is situated on the rim of the gorge at the junction of the main gorge and the side gorge. As one of the largest onsite museums in Africa, the museum provides educational exhibits related to the gorge and its long history.


IUGS geological heritage site

In respect of the presence of 'palaeoanthropological sites indicating early hominin development and activities', the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included the 'Palaeoanthropological Sites of Human Evolution of Laetoli – Olduvai Gorge' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organisation defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with a substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences through history.'


Gallery

Olduvai stone chopping tool.jpg, The oldest human-made object in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
{{cite web, title=A History of the World in 100 Objects, url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/a_history_of_the_world/objects.aspx#2, website=The British Museum, access-date=18 May 2016 Plaque marking the discovery of Australopithecus in Tanzania.jpg, The spot where the first ''P. boisei'' was discovered in Tanzania Olduwan Industry Chopper 2.jpeg, Oldowan stone chopper Olduvai Chopper.JPG, About 1.8 million years old


See also

*
Olorgesailie Olorgesailie is a geological formation in East Africa, on the floor of the Eastern Rift Valley in southern Kenya, southwest of Nairobi along the road to Lake Magadi. It contains a group of Lower Paleolithic archaeological sites. Olorgesailie ...
* Arusha Region * Geography of Tanzania * List of human evolution fossils * List of fossil sites * Raymond Dart *
Robert Broom Robert Broom FRS FRSE (30 November 1866 6 April 1951) was a British- South African doctor and palaeontologist. He qualified as a medical practitioner in 1895 and received his DSc in 1905 from the University of Glasgow. From 1903 to 1910, he ...


References

{{Reflist, 30em


Further reading

* Cole, Sonia (1975). ''Leakey's Luck''. Harcourt Brace Jovanvich, New York. * Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn Archaeology Essentials (2007). ''Archaeology Essentials.'' 2nd Edition. Thames & Hudson Ltd, London. * {{cite journal , last1 = Deocampo , first1 = Daniel M , year = 2004 , title = Authigenic clays in East Africa: Regional trends and paleolimnology at the
Plio-Pleistocene The Plio-Pleistocene is an informally described geological pseudo-period, which begins about 5 million years ago (Mya) and, drawing forward, combines the time ranges of the formally defined Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs—marking from about 5&n ...
boundary, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania , journal = Journal of Paleolimnology , volume = 31 , issue = 1 , pages = 1–9 , doi = 10.1023/b:jopl.0000013353.86120.9b , bibcode = 2004JPall..31....1D , s2cid = 128956824 * {{cite journal , last1 = Deocampo , first1 = Daniel M. , last2 = Blumenschine , first2 = R.J. , last3 = Ashley , first3 = G.M. , year = 2002 , title = Freshwater wetland diagenesis and traces of early hominids in the lowermost Bed II (~1.8 myr) playa lake-margin at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania , journal = Quaternary Research , volume = 57 , pages = 271–281 , doi = 10.1006/qres.2001.2317 , s2cid = 129174931 * Hay, Richard L. (1976). "Geology of the Olduvai Gorge." University of California Press, 203 pp. * Gengo, Michael F. (2009). Evidence of Human Evolution, Interpreting. ''Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture.''SAGE Publications. 5 Dec. 2011. * Young, Lisa (2 October 2011). Hominin Migrations Out of Africa. ''Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology.'' University of Michigan. * Tactikos, Joanne Christine (2006). ''A landscape perspective on the Oldowan from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania''. {{ISBN, 0-542-15698-9. * Leakey, L.S.B. (1974). ''By the evidence: Memoirs 1932-1951''. Harcourt Brace Jovanavich, New York, {{ISBN, 0-15-149454-1. * Leakey, M.D. (1971). ''Olduvai Gorge: Excavations in beds I & II 1960–1963''.
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, Cambridge. * Leakey, M.D. (1984). ''Disclosing the past''. Doubleday & Co., New York, {{ISBN, 0-385-18961-3. * Marshall, Fiona. (1999). Life in OLDUVAI GORGE. ''Calliope'' Sept. 1999: 16. General OneFile. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. * Young, Lisa (25 September 2011). The First Stone Tool Makers. ''Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology.'' University of Michigan.


External links

{{Commons category, Olduvai Gorge
Natural History museum in Arusha




{{National Historic Sites of Tanzania {{History of Tanzania {{Authority control {{Arusha Landforms of Tanzania Archaeological sites in Tanzania Paleoanthropological sites Pleistocene paleontological sites of Africa Prehistoric Tanzania Geology of Tanzania Archaeological sites in Arusha Region Canyons and gorges of Africa Archaeology of Eastern Africa First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites