Olduvai Gorge

Olduvai Gorge is a site in northern Tanzania where the earliest evidence of human existence can be found. Paleoanthropologists have discovered hundreds of fossilized bones and tools dating back millions of years; this has lead to a conclusion that humans evolved in Africa.

Olduvai is a misspelling of the Maasai word Oldupai, which is a name for a wild sisal plant that grows around the area. Olduvai Gorge is located inside the Great Rift Valley, between Ngorongoro and the Serengeti National Park. Close to Olduvai Gorge is another fossil-rich area called Laetoli. The Olduvai Gorge was formed about 30,000 years ago as a result of geological activity and streams.

Excavations of the sites by archaeologist Louis and Mary Leakey, yielded four kinds of hominid, each of them showing an increased brain size and complexity of the stone tools they use; the first Zinjanthropus skull was found at Olduvai Gorge.