Oldupai Gorge

The name "Olduvai Gorge" is actually a misnomer. A German anthropologist who first wrote about this area in the Great Rift Valley of Tanzania mispronounced "Oldupai" and published his research with the incorrect name. Oldupai is a Maasai term for a fibrous plant endemic to the region, also known as Sisal (see below). The sisal plant has a variety of uses: its roots can be boiled for medicine, as pain killer akin to paracetamol; the fibers from the leaves are used as fabric, or for roofing on thatched houses. Animals also depend on the tuberous leaves that can hold water. They extract the water from the leaves during the dry season.

There are approximately 5 stratified layers (or beds) in the excavated region that are used as timeline indicators, Bed 1 being the earliest and Bed 5, the latest.

The oldest cast of hominid footprints.

This is the skull cast of an Australopithecus boisei, discovered in Bed 1 (the earliest layer), believed to have roamed the area some 1.8 million years ago.

Homo habilis, discovered some 1.75 million years ago, was believed to be the first hominids to use tools.

Some of the tools used by early man.

Bone remnants of extinct animals in the surrounding area.

Olduvai (or Oldupai) Gorge is a must-see: Famously known as the "cradle of mankind", this region is where evidence of the oldest hominid remains and tools have been found. The modest museum above, was established by Louis and Mary Leakey who excavated the area in the '50s. The site continues to be excavated today.