“Olduvai Gorge” Oldest Evidence of Human’s Evolution :
Olduvai Gorge is a site in Tanzania that has the earliest evidence of the existence of human ancestors. Paleoanthropologists have found hundreds of fossil bones and stone tools in the area dating back millions of years, leading them to conclude that humans evolved in Africa.
Olduvai is a misspelling of Oldupai, the Maasai word for a wild sisal plant that grows in the area. The gorge is located in the Great Rift Valley, between the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park. It’s 30 long hauls from Laetoli, another reactionary-rich area.. Olduvai Gorge was formed about 30,000 years ago and the result of aggressive geological activity and flows.
The gorge is approximately 48 kilometers (48.2 mi) long and 295 meters (89.9 ft) deep, not large enough to be classified as a canyon. A river cuts through several layers to form four single beds, with the oldest being estimated to be around 2 million years old. At Laetoli, west of Ngorongoro Crater, hominid footprints are preserved in volcanic rock 3.6 million years old and represent some of the earliest signs of humanity in the world.
Australopithecus afarensis, a creature 1.2 to 1.4 meters tall, was found. The footprints of these are displayed in the Olduvai museum. The most advanced descendants of Laetoli men were found further north, buried in layers of the 100-metre-deep Olduvai Gorge.
Excavations, primarily by archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey, have yielded four different types of little men, showing gradual increases in brain size and the complexity of their stone tools. The earliest skull of Zinjanthropus, commonly known as ‘Nutcracker Man’, which lived about 1.75 million years ago, was found here. The most important research includes Home habilis, Zinjanthropus and Laetoli footprints.
