The Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania is considered to be the cradle of mankind.
It became widely known through the discovery of numerous Pleistocene fossils of early relatives of anatomically modern humans.
The gorge also gave its name to the Oldowan culture, from which the oldest Stone Age tools of mankind originate.

The fossil-bearing layers of the Olduvai Gorge have been divided into the following biostratigraphic banks:
Fossils of Australopithecus Boisei and Homo habilis (skilful man), who lived around 1.75 million years ago, were found in the lowest bank.
The bank above contains fossils of Paranthropus boisei, Homo habilis and Homo erectus, the first hominids to use fire, to hunt for food and the first to walk like modern humans.
18,000 year old bones of Homo sapiens (insightful, reasonable, clever man - Nosce te ipsum - know thyself) were found last.

Olduvai is the 1000th site within Ekkeland Goetze's IMAGE OF THE EARTH.