Olduvai Gorge summary

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Olduvai Gorge, Archaeological site on the eastern Serengeti Plain, northern Tanzania. It is a steep-sided ravine about 30 mi (48 km) long and 295 ft (90 m) deep. Deposits exposed in the sides of the gorge cover a time span from c. 2,100,000 to 15,000 years ago and have yielded the remains of more than 50 hominins as well as the most complete sequence of stone tool industries. The site first came to public notice in 1959 when Louis and Mary Leakey (see Leakey family) uncovered the first specimens of Paranthropus, a hominin related to Australopithecus. Remains of Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens have since been found. These discoveries have strengthened the argument that the human lineage originated in Africa. See also stone tool industry; Oldowan industry.

Acheulean industry Summary

Acheulean industry, first standardized tradition of toolmaking of Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens. Named for the type site, Saint-Acheul, in Somme département, northern France, Acheulean tools were made of stone with good fracture characteristics, including chalcedony, jasper, and flint; in

Homo habilis Summary

Homo habilis, extinct species of human, the most ancient representative of the human genus, Homo. Homo habilis inhabited parts of sub-Saharan Africa from roughly 2.4 to 1.5 million years ago (mya). In 1959 and 1960 the first fossils were discovered at Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania. This

Homo erectus Summary

Homo erectus, extinct species of the human genus (Homo), perhaps an ancestor of modern humans (Homo sapiens). H. erectus most likely originated in Africa, though Eurasia cannot be ruled out. Regardless of where it first evolved, the species seems to have dispersed quickly, starting about 1.9

archaeology Summary

Archaeology, the scientific study of the material remains of past human life and activities. These include human artifacts from the very earliest stone tools to the man-made objects that are buried or thrown away in the present day: everything made by human beings—from simple tools to complex