Laetoli Heritage Site

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Laetoli is a plio- Pleistocene heritage site situated on the Eyasi Plateau of northern Tanzania, part of the southern Gregory Rift Zone of the East African Rift System. The site itself lies south of Olduvai Gorge and west of the Plio-Pleistocene volcanic centers that make up the Ngorongoro highland. The region lies in the southwestern flank of the Crater Highland in the eastern branch of the Great Rift Valley, falling within the Serengeti Plains of Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Laetoli site contains middle and upper Pliocene strata, as well as lower and upper Pleistocene deposits that together span about 4.3 – ca 0.1 Mya according to potassium-argon (K/Ar) dating and faunal analysis. Paleontological and archaeological significance of Laetoli had been known since the 1930s. That is, several hominids were recovered during Khol-rasen expedition back in 1930s. Nevertheless, an intensive investigation of the area started in 1974 under directorship of Mary Leakey. In 1976, Mary Leakey made a remarkable discovery of the hominid foot print dating to 3.6 mya. Of importance, her finding saves as the world earliest evidence human bipedal locomotion.

Subsequent to the discovery of hominid footprint in 1976, various paleo-anthropological projects had been conducted in an area by both local and foreign scholars. This is because; Lateoli site is rich in material evidence in taphonomic studies, paleo-ecology, geology, paleo-environment, ichnofossial studies, archaeology, paleontology, and human evolution in general. Accordingly, between 1974 and 1979 about twenty-five individual hominid fossils were recovered from Pleistocene/Pliocene locality beds of Laetoli.

More animal footprint and stone tools has been reputedly reported from the site. However, no more footprints were obtained until 2014 work of Prof, Fidelis Massao and DrIchumbaki from the university. The footprints were found during rescue operation prio construction of proposed state of Art museum at Laetoli. Of important to note, the newly discovered footprints were found at locality 8 site G, few meters from where Mary Leakey discovered the hominids track way. Massao and ichumabaki’s findings add important information about exceptional ichnofossil evidence of human bipedal locomotion dating to 3.6 mya.

Because of conservation challenges, the footprints were buried to save them from rapid deterioration. Meanwhile, the government of Tanzania has proposed to reopen the footprint to be accessible to the public. Following this decision, the government has initiated construction of State of Art Museum at the area.