Friday, July 5, 2024
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If you own the truck, you can decorate the truck,
even with the "holly spirit" (KSS) |
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| Giraffa giraffa/Southern Giraffe (KSS) |
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Tamiko & Kent at Olduvai Gorge Monument
(2019, by Festo Kijo) featuring two large-scale
models of fossil skulls, Paranthropus boisei
and Homo habilis, two contemporary species
that were first discovered at Oldupai Gorge |
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Sansevieria ehrenbergii/East African
Wild Sisal; the Maasai word for "the
place of wild sisal" is oldupai, thus
this is really Oldupai Gorge and it is
one of the "Cradles of Civilization" |
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| Oldupai Gorge |
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Archaeologists and geologists have identified five beds
or layers, with the oldest being black basalt; below this
outcrop is the second bed of clay and sandstone, and the
red clay and sandstone of the outcrop is the third bed;
two types of bed are on top of the outcrop |
The Paranthropus boisei and Homo habilis remains were found in Beds 1 and 2, making them contemporaries. Homo erectus remains were found in the upper part of Bed 2, and since Homo habilis was only found in the lower part, they were not contemporaries.Louis and Mary Leakey are responsible for most of the excavations and discoveries of the hominid fossils in Oldupai Gorge.
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| Oldupai Gorge Viewing Platform |
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| Entering the Olduvai Gorge Museum |
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| A female Agama agama/Rock Lizard |
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The museum has replicas of the
earliest hominid discoveries,
including "Lucy" found in Ethiopia in
1974, from about 3.2 million years ago |
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"The Taung Child" of 2.3 million years ago
found in South Africa in 1924 |
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"The Peninj Mandible" of 1.7-1.9 million years ago,
found in Tanzania in 1964 |
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Skull of Paranthropus boisei of 1.75 million years ago
was found in Oldupai Gorge in 1959 by Mary Leakey |
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Skull of Homo Habilis of 1.8 million years ago
was found in Oldupai Gorge in 1968 |
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Skull of Homo erectus of 1.25 million years ago
was found in Oldupai Gorge in 1960 by Louis Leakey |
There were displays of stone age tools uncovered in Oldupai Gorge, and artifacts from indigenous tribes who live in the area.
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Traditional skin dress of the Hadza who continue
to live as hunter-gatherers |
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Traditional skin dress of the Datoga
who once lived in the Ngorongoro Crater,
and also live the nomadic life of herders |
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| We drove down to the basalt level of Bed 1 |
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| Then climbed up roads of clay and sandstone |
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We had a 30-minute drive to the Shifting Sands, a single sand dune that is being
blown by the wind 15-29 m/49-95' per year |
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The dune is shaped like a crescent moon, and it retains its shape due to being composed
of volcanic ash with magnetic particles |
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The wind blows westward, sweeping
the sand up and over the crescent edge |
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| Kent & Tamiko on the Shifting Sands |
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Stone markers show where the edge of
the dune was located at the end of each year |
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| Sheep herders with their Persian sheep |
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| More sheep |
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| Mary Leakey House dining hall and office (1970s) (KSS) |
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| Open room used for dining and analyzing fossils |
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| Two guest houses (1970s) |
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| Inside one guest house |
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| A thatched roof helped to keep the Leakey residence cool |
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Tamiko inside the Leakey residence where Mary
Leakey lived until 1984 (KSS) |
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| Original Leakey furnishings |
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| Golden Funnel Weaver Spider (KSS) |
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| The outhouse |
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Windmill (1972) provided electricity
and was donated by a North Carolinian |
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Land Rover owned by the son of
Mary & Louis Leakey, Richard |
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Lynn & Richard Hay Residence; Richard spent 12
years studying the geology of Oldupai Gorge |
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Hottentotta trilineatus/Eastern Nomad
Scorpion: Venomous! (KSS) |
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| The original solar panels (1970s) |
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| Our guide unlocks the power house |
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Power cells from the windmill and
current solar panels (KSS) |
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| Power cells from the two old windmills |
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| Deep water storage tanks |
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| Old laboratory is now used for storage ... |
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... of artifacts collected by the Leakeys; seemed like
it should be an archaeological treasure trove |
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| Too straight to be sections of elephant tusk |
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| Appears to be an elephant jaw on the right (KSS) |
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| Fossilized elephant foot? |
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| Mary Leakey's Kitchen |
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| Wood-fired grill |
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| Some kitchen utensils |
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It seems people wait along the road for a ride,
and they understand safari vehicles with foreign
customers will not be stopping |
Next: Local Tanzania.
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