World Atlas Core Records · Technology

Olduvai Gorge

c. 1.9-1.2 million years ago · Tanzania

A long sequence preserves several hominin species, animal remains and changing stone-tool traditions.

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AI-generated evidence-guided visualization related to Olduvai Gorge, c. 1.9-1.2 million years ago. — AI-generated visualization based on the cited record and period context. It is not documentary evidence or an authenticated reconstruction of a single event.

How the setting appeared

Lakeshore, grassland, river and woodland conditions shifted repeatedly.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-OLDUVAI-GORGECIT-CORE069-OLDUVAI-SMITHSONIAN Setting and material context · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

How people lived

Different mobile groups returned to resource-rich localities over many thousands of years.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-OLDUVAI-GORGECIT-CORE069-OLDUVAI-SMITHSONIAN Lifeways and community · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

How people worked

Flakes, cores and later handaxes supported cutting and processing tasks.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-OLDUVAI-GORGECIT-CORE069-OLDUVAI-SMITHSONIAN Work, tools and exchange · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Belief, ritual and worship

No direct evidence permits a religious reconstruction.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-OLDUVAI-GORGECIT-CORE069-OLDUVAI-SMITHSONIAN Belief, ritual and evidence limits · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

World-atlas stage: Early Homo
Region: Africa · Tanzania
Languages and scripts: Not named in this record
Important people: No individual is centered in this record
Events and changes: c. 1.9-1.7 million years ago: Bed I deposits preserve Oldowan artifacts, fauna and hominin fossils; c. 1.7-1.2 million years ago: Later deposits preserve Acheulean technologies and changing faunal assemblages; 1959 CE: The OH 5 cranium was excavated at FLK and later assigned to Paranthropus boisei
Evidence confidence: Strong archaeological sequence; one scene cannot represent its many species and periods.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-OLDUVAI-GORGECIT-CORE069-OLDUVAI-SMITHSONIAN Dates, place, language, people, events and confidence · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Historical geography

A dated anchor, not an exact border

The local map uses modern coastlines only for orientation. The marker identifies this record's geographic anchor, not the full reach of a community or polity.

Map geometry loads only when requested. Modern outlines are orientation only; historical geography and identities changed through time.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-OLDUVAI-GORGECIT-CORE069-OLDUVAI-SMITHSONIAN Historical-geography anchor and stated limits · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Evidence register

Guides used for this record

Each registered source ID is paired with its institutional URL for independent checking. Source count is transparent, and duplicate URLs count only once.

CIT-CORE-OLDUVAI-GORGE

Olduvai Gorge: record evidence guide

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/39

whc.unesco.org

CIT-CORE069-OLDUVAI-SMITHSONIAN

OH 5

https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils/oh-5

Smithsonian Human Origins Program

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