Walking in your footsteps (Or, Oldupai Gorge -- The Cradle of Mankind)
Africa » Tanzania » North » Olduvai Gorge
Published: March 11th 2007March 11th 2007
(This entry was posted on 27 March 2007 - we are still experiencing Blog-lag.)
No, not Olduvai, as you may have come to know it, but Oldupai. Oldupai is a Maasai word for a local cactus that grows in the area. Early Europeans mispronounced - or misspelled, rather - the name and now the world knows Oldupai as Olduvai.
I have wanted to visit Oldupai for a long time for many of the same reasons I wanted to visit Lascaux (see previous blog entry: Time Machine....). The exhibit at Oldupai is very basic and not what I would have expected for such an important site. It was still interesting. The features of the exhibit include casts of the earliest known hominid footprints (3.2 Million Years!!!) and a variety of fossils, bones, stone tools and placards with information about the gorge and the years of extensive excavation work that has been carried out at the site.
Oldupai is worth visiting if you are driving through the area (NCA) or if you have a serious interest in human history. Despite being a bit bare and basic, I enjoyed the visit a great deal.
Giant Extinct Antelope
Pelorovis oldowayensis
Note: If you are interested in this kind of stuff please visit www.Megafauna.com and www.TheHumanDiet.com
Next Adventure: We are about to head into the bush to visit with the bushman of Southern Tanzania....
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Extinct Elephant Species
Elephas recki's lower jaw.
Homo sapiens (Modern Human)
Elise in front of one of the displays at Oldupai.
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Delphine
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Homo sapiens specimen
Fine picture of Homo sapiens specimen. The bones in the background also look good.
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