What fossil discovery was made in the Great Rift valley?

“Australopithecus fossils found east of the Great Rift Valley: New remains demonstrate early hominid’s adaptability.” ScienceDaily.

Why is the Great Rift valley important to archeologists?

It probably has the highest concentration of hand axes than any other place in the world. The artifacts further provide us with very useful clues about the economic and cultural behaviour of the ancestral hominids and Homo erectus consistently between 1.2 million years ago and 400,000 years ago.

Why is the Great Rift valley important for the study of fossils?

The Rift Valley has been a rich source of fossils that allow study of human evolution, especially in an area known as Piedmont. Because the rapidly eroding highlands have filled the valley with sediments, a favourable environment for the preservation of remains has been created.

Where did Geologists find human remains in the Rift Valley?

Now, scientists have dated a famous set of remains from the rift zone in Ethiopia, known as Omo I, firmly identifying them as the oldest modern human remains in eastern Africa, and the oldest unquestioned evidence of H. sapiens in the world.

Why is the Great Rift valley an important physical feature?

The Great Rift Valley provides evidence of a split in the African Plate, dividing it into two smaller tectonic plates: the Somalian Plate and the Nubian Plate.

Where have the earliest human fossils been found in Africa?

southwestern Ethiopia
Known as the Omo I remains, the fossils were found in the Omo Kibish Formation in southwestern Ethiopia, within the East African Rift valley between 1967 and 1974 – a region where humanity is believed to have evolved – and scientists have been attempting to date them ever since.

Why is the Great Rift Valley an important physical feature?

Why is the Great Rift Valley so critical to the study of human evolution?

The Great Rift Valley is an important area of the world for understanding the origins of human evolution because it is a massive geological feature characterized by active volcanoes and earthquakes over millions of years. As a result, many layers of sediments, rocks, and fossils are exposed in the Great Rift Valley.

Why is the Great Rift valley so critical to the study of human evolution?

Why has the geology of the Great Rift Valley been so critical to the study of human evolution?

The system of rift valleys that characterizes the African continent represents a perfect environment to understand the evolution of mankind; for the important paleoanthropological discoveries in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire, the African rift valleys are indeed considered the “cradle of mankind”, that is.

How was Great Rift Valley formed?

Geologists know that the Rift Valley was formed by violent subterranean forces that tore apart the earth’s crust. These forces caused huge chunks of the crust to sink between parallel fault lines and force up molten rock in volcanic eruptions.