ABSTRACT
It is important to realize from the outset that the early hominids of Olduvai did not live in a gorge. The Olduvai Gorge, located on the Serengeti Plain of northern Tanzania, is a relatively recent phenomenon. It is a canyon carved by modern streams over the past 200,000 years. These streams have cut through a basin of sediments laid down by a lake now vanished and by the streams that once entered it. The modern streams, originating from Lakes Masek and Ndutu in the Serengeti and from the slopes of the volcano Lemagrut, have cut out a “Main Gorge” and a “Side Gorge” which intersect to form a “Y” shape (Figure 2.1). On route to a local depression in the land, known as Olbalbal, the seasonally flowing channel waters have eroded a narrow slice of geological history almost 2 million years old. This slice preserves the bones and stone artifacts of the hominids and animals that once lived near the ancient lake and streams in the Olduvai region.
