Olduvai Gorge is a remarkable paleoanthropological site and a popular stop on the way to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area for those interested in learning about early human evolution. It has yielded the remains of over 50 hominins, offering a fascinating glimpse into the ancient past.
The site is open for visits year-round and visitors are allowed to see the actual excavations with the help of an official guide.
Overview of Olduvai Gorge
Olduvai Gorge is located in the eastern Serengeti Plains within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Ngorongoro District in northern Tanzania, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Laetoli, another significant archaeological site of early human occupation.
The gorge is a 48-km-long (30 mi) and 90-meter-deep (295 ft) steep-sided ravine in the Great East African Rift Valley, often referred to as the ‘Cradle of Mankind’. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and is also a registered National Historic Site in Tanzania.
The name Olduvai is derived from a local Maasai term, “oldupai, which means the place of the wild sisal, as the area supports the growth of the East African wild sisal.
In 1960, Mary and Louis Leakey, British and Kenyan paleoanthropologists and archeologists, unearthed the first well-dated fossils and artifacts of some of our earliest human ancestors.
A series of discoveries followed thereafter, including those made in different parts of Tanzania and East Africa as a whole, all of which have helped answer many questions regarding human existence and evolution.
A monument shaped like two enormous fossil skulls was built to commemorate the findings that have had a profound impact on our understanding of the history of humankind. It displays the exact shape of the actual skulls unearthed.
To preserve the unique artifacts, a museum of anthropology and human evolution was constructed in the gorge. Additionally, excavation and research programs established there have achieved great advances in human knowledge and are world-renowned.
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