Olduvai Gorge: early hominins and stone tools
Garganta de Olduvai: homininos y herramientas más antiguas
- Date
- 1959-1964 · confidence high
- Place
- Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
- Credited to
- Mary Leakey (Zinjanthropus, 1959), Louis Leakey (Homo habilis, 1964); Hans Reck (1913)
- People
- 👤 Hans Reck1886–1937👤 Louis Leakey1903–1972👤 Mary Leakey1913–1996
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Mary Leakey found the skull of Paranthropus boisei (1.75 Ma) and later remains of Homo habilis alongside Oldowan tools. It fixed East Africa as the cradle of humanity and stone tools at almost 2 million years old.
Coordinates of the site. The Maasai people knew the place ('Oldupai' is the sisal plant). The Laetoli footprints (3.6 Ma) were found by Mary Leakey in 1978.
What it led to
- Modern palaeoanthropology in Africa (Turkana, Hadar, Lucy)
- Potassium-argon dating applied to hominins
- Confirmation of Darwin's view on African origins
Built on
- Taung Child and Australopithecus africanus1924-1925
- Taung Child Australopithecus (Dart, 1924)
- Volcanic stratigraphy of the Rift
Made possible
- K-Ar dating in palaeoanthropology
- Taphonomy studies