Olduvai Gorge
Region | Eastern Africa |
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Coordinates | 2°59′37″S 35°21′04″E / 2.993613°S 35.35115°E |
Type | Archaeological |
Length | 48km |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1913, 1935, 1941, 1953, 1955, 1958 & 1960 |
Archaeologists | Wilhelm Kattwinkel, Louis Leakey, Mary Leakey, Percy Edward Kent & Jonathan Leakey |
Condition | Excavated |
Ownership | Tanzanian Government |
Management | Antiquities Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism[1] |
Public access | Yes |
Official name | Oldupai Gorge |
Type | Pre-historic |
The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge in
The gorge takes its name from the
The locality is significant in showing the increasing developmental and social complexities in the earliest
History
Discovery and research
While travelling in
Louis and Mary Leakey are responsible for most of the
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.[5]
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.[5]
Gorge Stratigraphy
The stratigraphic sequence in the gorge is up to 90 m thick, with a
Bed I
The 20–46 m thick
Bed II
Bed II consists of 21–35 m of
Bed III
The distinctly red Bed III consists of 6–10 m of clays, sandstones and conglomerates signifying variable lake depths. Few fossils are present and only isolated stone tools, indicating a sparse early man presence.[3]: 63–66
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
Masek beds
The Masek Beds are composed of two episodes of
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.[3]: 74
The stone tools and their makers
million years ago ) |
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.[3]: 88, 90, 95, 98
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.[3]: 83–86
The first species found by the Leakeys, Zinjanthropus boisei or Australopithecus boisei (renamed and still debated as Paranthropus boisei), featured a
Conversely, the Leakeys' 1960s finds presented different characteristics. The skull lacked a sagittal crest and the
The oldest tools at Olduvai, found at the lowest layer and classified as Oldowan, consist of pebbles chipped on one edge.
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,[10] 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.[11]
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, 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.[12]
Hunters or scavengers?
Though substantial evidence of hunting and
Much of the information about early hominins comes from tools and debris piles of
Bone fragments of birds, fish,
Hominid fossils found at Olduvai Gorge
- Olduvai Hominid 5
- Olduvai Hominid 7
- Olduvai Hominid 8
- Olduvai Hominid 9
- 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 (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).[15]
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.'[16]
Gallery
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The oldest human-made object in the British Museum[17]
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The spot where the first P. boisei was discovered in Tanzania
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Oldowan stone chopper
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About 1.8 million years old
See also
- Olorgesailie
- Arusha Region
- Geography of Tanzania
- List of human evolution fossils
- List of fossil sites
- Raymond Dart
- Robert Broom
References
- ^ "Antiquities Division". Retrieved 21 Jul 2022.
- ^ "Antiquities Sites" (PDF). Retrieved 21 Jul 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Leakey, Mary (1979). Olduvai Gorge. London: Book Club Associates. pp. 11–17, 40.
- ISBN 978-0253342140
- ^ )
- PMID 24416315.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-395-13592-1.
- ^ Napier, John. 1960. "Fossil Hand Bones from Olduvai Gorge." in Nature", December 17th edition.
- ^ Barham, Lawrence; Mitchell, Peter (2008). The First Aftricans. Cambridge University Press. p. 126.
- PMID 10213682.
- PMID 12494313. .
- PMID 12234546.
- ISBN 978-0195183467.
- ISBN 978-0195183467.
- ^ "Zinj Tower launch: Jubilant PM sees all humans as Tanzanians". www.ippmedia.com. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
- ^ "The First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites" (PDF). IUGS International Commission on Geoheritage. IUGS. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ "A History of the World in 100 Objects". The British Museum. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
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.
- Deocampo, Daniel M (2004). "Authigenic clays in East Africa: Regional trends and paleolimnology at the S2CID 128956824.
- Deocampo, Daniel M.; Blumenschine, R.J.; Ashley, G.M. (2002). "Freshwater wetland diagenesis and traces of early hominids in the lowermost Bed II (~1.8 myr) playa lake-margin at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania". Quaternary Research. 57: 271–281. 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. Cambridge University Press, 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
History of Tanzania |
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Timeline |
Pre-colonial period |
Colonial period |
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Modern history |
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