Olduvai Gorge (ōl`dəwā', –vā'), a feature of the E African Rift Valley in Tanzania. Erosional processes have exposed geological strata in the gorge dating to the lower Pleistocene epoch, about 1.8 million to 600,000 years ago. The site was made famous by the numerous hominid fossils excavated by Louis Leakey Leakey, Louis Seymour Bazett , 1903–72, British archaeologist and anthropologist of E Africa, b. Kabete, Kenya; father of Richard Leakey. His fossil discoveries in E Africa demonstrated that humans were far older than had previously been suspected.
..... Click the link for more information. and his wife, Mary Leakey Leakey, Mary Douglas, 1913–96, British archaeologist, b. London as Mary Douglas Nicol; wife of Louis Leakey and mother of Richard Leakey. She had little formal education, but a fascination with archaeology led to her supervising her first dig in England in 1934.
..... Click the link for more information. , as well as by later researchers. Examples of at least three species of hominids have been found at Olduvai, including Australopithecus Australopithecus , an extinct genus of the hominid family found in Africa between about 4 and 1 million years ago. At least seven species of australopithecines are now generally recognized, including Australopithecus afarensis, A. africanus, A.
..... Click the link for more information. boisei, Homo habilis, and Homo erectus Homo erectus , extinct hominid living between 1.6 million and 250,000 years ago. Homo erectus is thought to have evolved in Africa from H. habilis, the first member of the genus Homo. Anatomically and physiologically, H.
..... Click the link for more information. . In addition, the two earliest stone tool traditions, Oldowan and Acheulian (see Paleolithic period Paleolithic period or Old Stone Age, the earliest period of human development and the longest phase of mankind's history. It is approximately coextensive with the Pleistocene geologic epoch, beginning about 2 million years ago and ending in
..... Click the link for more information. ), have been found along with fossil remains. Both the fossils and the tools have been important lines of evidence in understanding human evolution human evolution, theory of the origins of the human species, Homo sapiens. Modern understanding of human origins is derived largely from the findings of paleontology, anthropology, and genetics, and involves the process of natural selection (see Darwinism).
..... Click the link for more information. . Recent research in Olduvai has centered on excavated camp sites addressing problems involving the social and dietary adaptations of early hominids.

Olduvai Gorge

Archaeological site on the eastern Serengeti Plain, northern Tanzania. It is a steep-sided ravine about 30 mi (48 km) long and 295 ft (90 m) deep. Deposits exposed in the sides of the gorge cover a time span from c. 2,100,000 to 15,000 years ago and have yielded the remains of more than 50 hominins as well as the most complete sequence of stone tool industries. The site first came to public notice in 1959 when Louis and Mary Leakey (see Leakey family) uncovered the first specimens of Paranthropus, a hominin related to Australopithecus. Remains of Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens have since been found. These discoveries have strengthened the argument that the human lineage originated in Africa. See also stone tool industry; Oldowan industry.

Olduvai Gorge

a gorge in N Tanzania, north of the Ngorongoro Crater: fossil evidence of early man and other closely related species, together with artefacts

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Olduvai Gorge (redirected from Olvudai Gorge)

Olduvai Gorge

Olduvai Gorge
(redirected from Olvudai Gorge)