The site of an ancient lake, the Olduvai Gorge was discovered in 1911 by German entomologist Wilhelm Kattwinkel who fell into the gorge while chasing a butterfly. Since then archaeologists have been digging there almost constantly and have found seven layers of hominid and animal fossils as well as some of the earliest stone tools ever found. The name Olduvai was a European mispronunciation of Oldupai, the Masai word for the wild sisal plant that grows in the gorge.
Olduvai Hominid Remains
The cradle of mankind has yielded more than 50 remains of three different types of hominids, the Australopithecus boisei, the homo habilis and the homo erectus. In 1975 Mary Leakey found 3.75 million year old fossilized footprints that prove that hominids walked on two feet, which was one of the greatest paleoanthropological discoveries of the past century. This and other discoveries at Olduvai provide the basis of the theory that human lineage originated in Africa.
Oldowan and Acheulian Stone Tools
Found in Bed I (the oldest bed at Olduvai) there is evidence of campsites and living floors including Oldowan stone tools made from flaked basalt and quartz. These tools include choppers, scrapers, and pounders that were used to process food but not to hunt. The oldest recognizable tools on earth, the used of Oldowan tools began about 2.5 million years ago and lasted until about 500 thousand years ago. Acheulian tools were found in Bed II through to the Masek Beds and were also created from flakes of basalt. This group of tools consisted of hand axes, cleavers, retouched flakes, scrapers and segmental chopping tools, that were used for hacking wood from trees, cutting animal carcasses, scraping and cutting hides, digging roots and possibly hunting. They date from 1.5 million years ago to 150,000 years ago. It is unsure if these two types of tools were used by different types of hominids or if they were used by similar hominids living in different circumstances.
Animal Remains at Olduvai
There have been countless fossils of varied fauna species found at Olduvai Gorge. Many of these fossils are large antelopes, however, in the FLK North site (Frida Leakey Korongo North named for Louis Leakey’s first wife) there is the earliest known evidence of elephant consumption, dated to 1.8 million years ago. Also found were hares, guinea-fowl, giraffes, and hipparions (three-toed horses).
Olduvai Gorge Geology
The gorge is situated in the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa, and in the times of the hominids would have looked very similar to what it is today. The volcanic activity in the area was far greater than it is today, and over many years it coated the banks of the ancient lake with ash. Approximately 500,000 years ago a stream was diverted by seismic activity and began to wear down the earth, exposing the seven layers (Beds I-IV, the Masek Beds, the Ndutu Beds and the Naisiusiu Beds from oldest to newest) of the gorge.
Louis and Mary Leakey
The excavation of the Olduvai Gorge has been a family affair from the beginning. Louis and Mary Leakey began excavating Olduvai in 1931 and continued to dig until the 60s, although the excavation was postponed during World War II. After Louis died in 1972, Mary became one of the leading paleoantropologists in the world and later returned to Olduvai as the director of excavation. Louis and Mary instilled a love of paleoanthroplogy in their children and their one son Richard followed in their footsteps except he chose to excavate in Kenya. After Mary’s death in 1996 the excavation was continued by Prof. Robert Blumenschine and Prof. Fidelis Masao.
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