Olduvai Gorge Olduvai Gorge is located in northern Tanzania (map), and is an archaeological site of great importance. It features the remains of the earliest human beings, who were discovered by Dr. Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey in the earlier part of the 20th century.

A Homo habilis skull: found at the Olduvai Gorge

Commonly, Olduvai Gorge is called the Cradle of Mankind - as it is the place where humanity first appeared as a species.  The first humans ever to exist, lived their life in Tanzania, specifically, as fossil records show that Olduvai Gorge was one of the earliest inhabited valleys. The land is now semi-desert, but thousands of years ago it was lush forest.

The fossil arrangement at Olduvai Gorge seems to show that people lived in little camps and hunted more than two million years ago! This discovery revolutionized the previously held perception regarding the origins of Mankind. Various types of humans lived in Olduvai Gorge, showing that humanity had to evolve sufficiently in the perfect "womblike" environment before spreading out across the world. The true man Homo sapiens appeared only 50,000 years ago.  Other findings include hunting weapons, basic tools and remains of dead animals, clearly killed by humans. For more information on early humans, click here to visit a good website about the subject.