

Anatomist, Raymond Dart, thought differently and further examined the skull – he determined that due to the position of an opening at the base of this skull it could be concluded that “Tanug’s child” had walked upright like a human and described his discovery as the Australopithecus africanus(“southern ape of Africa”). In 1924, a fossil discovery of a juvenile primate’s skull was found on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, it was named “Taung’s child” and was thought to be an isolated find which not many scientists took seriously. The “Cradle of Humankind” is located in South Africa and is the world’s richest hominin site – around 40% of the world’s human ancestor fossils have been uncovered in this region. This revealed that the Homo habilis was, in fact, more ape-like than previously thought.Ĭradle of Humankind While Olduvai Gorge is well-known for being the “Cradle of Mankind”, there is a different World Heritage Site located in Southern Africa is known as the “Cradle of Humankind”.
Cradle of humankind full#
In 1986, their work paid off, and a team of Tanzanian and American archaeologists discovered what has been described as the biggest and most significant finding to ever have been made at 302 bone fragments and teeth belonging to a young adult female were uncovered and allowed for this species full body proportions to be determined. Understanding that this piece of East Africa held immense knowledge and insight into the evolution of the human race, many other archaeological teams were inspired and continued their search for evidence within the area. Something even more interesting about their discovery was that this hominin’s existence could be dated back to 1.75 million years ago – making it the oldest hominin discovery to have ever been made, further substantiating claims that the first humans originally evolved in Africa.

Mary and her husband, Louis Leakey, spent the next several weeks uncovering over 400 different pieces of an almost complete skull and were able to classify their find as an entirely new category of hominin, the Zinjanthropus boisei. What makes this site so special is the fact that in 1959, Mary Leakey, a British paleoanthropologist, discovered fossilised parts of a skull and upper teeth of a type of hominin (direct ancestors of humans) that had not been previously identified. It has also provided the longest known archaeological record in history explaining the development of stone-tool use through the years. The Olduvai Gorge has provided us with the most continuous record showing the evolution of humans during the past 2 million years. The rocks that make up the ravine can be dated back to 2.1 million years ago and more than 60 hominid fossil remains have been located within the gorge. Olduvai Gorge is made up of two ravine branches which combined span the length of about 30 miles (48 kilometres) and are around 295 feet (90 metres) deep as well. The name Olduvai Gorge is actually a misspelling of Oldupai, which is a Maasai word for a wild plant that grows in the area. It is located between the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. Olduvai Gorge – The Cradle of Mankind The Olduvai Gorge is a famous site located within the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.

Because of this, it forms part of a World Heritage Site and continues to reveal an immense amount of information regarding our past, insights into our hominin ancestors, and a way to understand how many of these species used to live. Olduvai Gorge is one of the most important fossil sites in the world.
