Olduvai Gorge

- Olduvai Gorge -

Olduvai Gorge is an archaeological site located in the eastern Serengeti Plains, commonly referred to as "The Cradle of Mankind." The gorge is a very steep sided ravine roughly 30 miles long and 295 ft. deep. The gorge is named after the Maasai word for the wild sisal plant, commonly called Oldupaai.

One of the most important archaeological sites in the world, the Olduvai Gorge has been instrumental in furthering understanding of early human evolution. Many hominid remains date from 2,100,000 to 15,000 years ago, including the skull of the primitive hominid australopithecus boisei or nutcracker man, a species that became extinct about one million years ago.

(An anthropologist address the 2008 Xpedition team members)

( Olduvai fossilised footprints )

Despite the controversy surrounding the interpretation of many of the Olduvai specimens, scientists agree that no other site has produced stone tools, animal bones and early hominid remains so precisely associated in such a well understood environment. The 3.75 million year old fossilised footprints, found by Dr. Mary Leakey in 1975 at nearby laetoli, proved that our prehuman ancestors walked in an upright position, this is widely thought to rank among the greatest palaeoanthropogical discoveries of the past century. It was from this evidence that most in the scientific community conclude that modern humans actually evolved in East Africa.