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IMPORTANT NOTE: We have maintained the originally published taxonomic designation for each specimen despite the fact that many of these specimens have been reclassified since.  We chose to follow this protocol because of the difficulty in keeping up to date with all of the taxonomic groups, and our hesitancy to make a judgement call on taxonomic debates.  As such, please search the database with this in mind, perhaps using higher level taxonomic classifications for your query.

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85 specimens found
Image Spec # CODI Database ID Arch. Locality Geo. Locality Elements Preserved Excavation Date Repository Bed Level Stratigraphic Horizon Bibliographic Information Curatorial Notes ID By ID Date Research Team In Situ Sediment or Matrix Adhering Class Order Suborder Infraorder Superfamily Family Subfamily Tribe Genus Species Subspecies Taxonomic Notes Taxonomic Problems
OH 49 3764 6 - FLK NN RAD-f 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 -- Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 23 3738 5 - FLK L-MAN-f , L-P , L-M , 1968 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania IV/Masek Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Left mandible fragment with P4-M2. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. Bed IV in Leakey (1971), referred to as having derived from Masek Beds in other publications (e.g., Millard, 2009). 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo erectus No
OH 64 3779 81 - HWK W TOOTH 1989 104 - Unknown II Lowermost 20 mm above Tuff IF in "basal waxy clay". Clarke, R.J. Published online 4 May 2012. A Homo habilis maxilla and other newly-discovered hominid fossils from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Olduvai Special issue, JHE Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus boisei No
OH 61 3776 80 - MCK SKEL 1982 104 - Unknown Naisiusiu? -- Crouched burial. Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo sapiens No
OH 59 3774 40 - JK L-I-f 1962 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania III -- Upper left central incisor crown. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 28 3743 38 - WK 290 - 36 L-PVG-f , L-FEM-f 1970 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania IV a Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Left femoral shaft and left innominate. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo erectus No
OH 29 3744 76 - JK W M-f 1969 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania III/IVa Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 56 3771 24 - DK L-PAR-f 1976 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I Lower -- Three conjoining parietal fragments in region of bregma. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 53 3768 19 - SHK R-FEM 1957 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Middle -- Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo No
OH 50 3765 6 - FLK NN RIB-f 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 -- Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 65 3780 82 - 64 MAX , TOOTH 1995 127 - National Natural History Museum, Arusha, Tanzania I Middle/Upper Blumenschine, R. J., Peters, C. R., Masao, F. T., et al. 2003. Late Pliocene Homo and Hominid Land Use from Western Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Science 299, 1217-1221. Author describes specimen as "complete maxilla with all teeth and lower face of adult". Specimen is pictured in images 1-11. (Images from R. Clarke 2011). Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis Large habilis No
OH 34 3749 76 - JK W FEM , TIB-f 1962 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania III/ IV for Bed IV level = a Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Femur described as "slender" (Leakey MD, 1971) and shaft of tibia. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo sp. Slender bone No
OH 35 3750 6 - FLK NN TIB , FIB 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 22 Davis, P. R. 1964. Hominid fossils from Bed I, Olduvai Gorge, Tanganyika. A tibia and fibula. Nature. 201, 967. Almost complete. Attributed to same individual as skull fragments and teeth of OH 6 but appear to be more mature (Tobias, 1991). Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 36 3751 22 - SC ULNA 1970 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Upper Tuff IID Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Almost complete. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo erectus No
OH 48 3763 6 - FLK NN CLA 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 -- Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 38 3753 22 - SC R-M , I , I 1971 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Upper >IID Fluvo-lacustrine Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Molar is right M2. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus boisei No
OH 46 3761 6 - FLK NN TOOTH 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Broken crown of molar or premolar. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus boisei No
OH 45 3760 6 - FLK NN L-M 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Upper M1 germ. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 41 3756 37 - HWK EE L-M 1972 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Lower Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Upper M1 or M2. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 43 3758 6 - FLK NN L-MTT, L-MTT 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 Leakey, M.D. 1978. Olduvai fossil hominids:their stratigraphic positions and associations. In: Jolly, CJ, editor. Early hominids of Africa. London:Duckworth. P. 3-16. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis No
OH 1968 3797 40 - JK CRA 1968 125 - Germany Ndutu Lower Surface. Von Zieten RRR. 2009. Preliminary report on a new Olduvai hominid from 1968: an Anatomically-Modern-Man from Upper Ndutu Bed. Retrieved from http://www1.uni-hamburg.de/ Anatomically modern. Complete skull. Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo sapiens Anatomically modern No
OH 5 3713 5 - FLK 283 - 45 CRA , MAX , M , I , C , P 17 July - 6 August 1959 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I Middle (Zinj.) 22 feet below the upper limit of Bed I (Tuff IF), approximately 20 feet above basalt. Leakey, L. S. B. 1959. A new fossil skull from Olduvai. Nature 184:491-493. Holotype. Almost complete cranium. Adolescent. One reconstructed fossil found at House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. Additional pieces from NMK unpublished. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Zinjanthropus boisei Holotype. This specimen was reclassified as Paranthropus boisei by Robinson (1960). No
OH 4 3720 8 - MK 281 - 11 P , M , MAN 1959 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I Lower Surface. Leakey, L.S.B., Tobias, P.V. & Napier, J.R. 1964. A new species of the genus Homo from Olduvai Gorge. Nature 202(4927): 7-9. Paratype. Two isolated teeth (lower molar and upper premolar) and one M3 in a mandible. Found in small block of consolidated tuff. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 282 - H. Mukiri 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis Paratype No
OH 3 3719 10 - BK 280 - 94 d-C , L-d-M 1955 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Upper Upper part of BK channel which cuts into Tuff IID Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. In the first publication of these specimens (Leakey, LSB, 1958), Leakey described the teeth as a deciduous lower canine and a left deciduous upper M2. "This view was not shared by Robinson, von Koenigswald and others, who preferred to regard it as either a permanent or a deciduous upper molar of an australopithecine character" (Leakey, MD, 1970:226). Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 130 - L.S.B. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus Referred to as species boisei in Tobias (Olduvai Gorge volume IV, 1991). No
OH 7 3722 6 - FLK NN 283 - 45 MAN , L-PAR , R-PAR-f , M , OCC-f , L/R-TEM-f , PHX , CAR 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 On surface of clay immediately overlying Tuff IB. Leakey, L.S.B., Tobias, P.V. & Napier, J.R. 1964. A new species of the genus Homo from Olduvai Gorge. Nature 202(4927): 7-9. Holotype. "Jonny's Child". Juvenile. Mandible with partial dentition and unerupted R/L-M3, almost complete left parietal and fragments of right parietal, left and right petrous portions (temporal) , "sundry small skull fragments ... [and] twenty-one bones of the hand, including the trapezium, scaphoid and a number of phalanges" (Leakey, MD, 1971:228). "One upper molar, a terminal phalanx, and a broken capitate bone, found on the surface, probably also belong to this individual" (:226). Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis Holotype No
OH 8 3723 6 - FLK NN 283 - 45 PHX , CAR , TAR , CLA , AST , CAL , CUNE , CUB , NAV , M-f 1960 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I 3 Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. The molar-f was found on the surface and "probably also belongs to OH 8" (Leakey MD, 1971:228). Twelve associated foot bones including astragalus (has carnivore tooth marks (Leakey MD, 1971), calcaneus, cuboid and navicular, cuneiforms 1- 3, proximal ends with shafts, five metatarsals. Proximal ends of one metacarpal and three finger phalanges. One radius shaft. Clavicle with damaged articular ends. Foot articulates "almost perfectly with the OH 35 leg" (Susman, 1983:372). 130 - L.S.B. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis Paratype No
OH 10 3725 7 - FLK North 283 - 45 R-PHX 1961 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I Upper (level 5) 3.5 feet below marker Tuff IF at top of Bed I Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Terminal first phalanx. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 154 - Leakey and Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini No
OH 68 3783 18 - VEK Mand-f, R-P-f 2001 127 - National Natural History Museum, Arusha, Tanzania II Lower Mandible fragment with unerupted P4 and root of M1. Specimen is pictured in the middle in image 1. Specimen is shown in the middle of the top row in image 2. Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus africanus OH 13-like No
OH 13 3728 27 - MNK 287 - 88 "Skull Site" MAN , MAX , CRA-f 1963 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Lower Middle IIB 5 feet above chert horizon Paratpye. "This consists of a sub-adult skull, probably female, with the third molars coming into wear. It is represented by the greater part of the mandible, including the complete dentition, although the crowns of the incisors are damaged and the left ascending ram us is not preserved; the greater part of the maxillae, represented by two fragments both lacking the anterior portions; the greater part of the occipital; the right parietal and temporal; parts of the left parietal and temporal; together with a few frontal fragments and approximately fifty additional pieces which it has not been possible to fit together" (Leakey MD, 1971:231). Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 5 pieces found at House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 130 - L.S.B. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis Paratype No
OH 80 3796 10 - BK R/L-P , L-M , R/L-I , L-HUM-f , R-RAD-f , R-FEM-f , TIB-f 2009 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II 4 Upper Domínguez-Rodrigo M, et al. 2013. First Partial Skeleton of a 1.34-Million-Year-Old Paranthropus boisei from Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. PLoS ONE 8(12): e80347. Distal portion of a left humerus diaphysis. Partial right radius with head, proximal metaphysis and partial diaphysis. Right partial femur, diaphysis in three refitting pieces. Tibia midshaft fragment assigned to OH 80 based on close "spatial association, comparable anatomical ruggedness and similar state of preservation to the other OH 80 postcranial fossils" (Dominiguez-Rodrigo et al., 2013). 292 - Proyecto Olduvai Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Australopithecus boisei Anatomically modern No
OH 15 3730 27 - MNK 287 - 88 "Skull Site" C , M 1963 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Lower Middle Above level of OH 13. Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. One canine, two molars. Canine is worn, molars are upper molars. "The teeth are exceedingly robust and show an unusual degree of wear. They were not found in close association; one molar and the canine lay approximately I ft. "Qelow the top of the tuff in which they occurred, whilst the second molar was 4 ft. distant and 1 ft. deeper in the deposit" (Leakey MD, 1971:232). Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 7 pieces found at House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 154 - Leakey and Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo No
OH 72 3787 24 - DK TOOTH 2004 127 - National Natural History Museum, Arusha, Tanzania I Lower “Discovered by an Earthwatch project led by F.T. Masao in 2003 and 2004, respectively, and will be described elsewhere.” -R. Clarke (2011) Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 71 3786 24 - DK TOOTH 2003 127 - National Natural History Museum, Arusha, Tanzania I Lower “Discovered by an Earthwatch project led by F.T. Masao in 2003 and 2004, respectively, and will be described elsewhere.” -R. Clarke (2011) Specimen is shown. Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 70 3785 80 - MCK L-M-f 2002 127 - National Natural History Museum, Arusha, Tanzania II Lower Distrobuccal portion of upper M1 crown. Specimen is pictured on bottom right of image 1. Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus africanus OH 24-like No
OH 19 3734 29 - FC W 288 - 89 M-f 1963 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Middle 15 feet above chert horizon Leakey MD. (1971) Olduvai Gorge, Vol. 3: excavations in Beds I & II 1960-1963. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Half of a very worn molar. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 142 - M. D. Leakey 264 - Leakey family expedition Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 69 3784 80 - MCK L-P 2002 127 - National Natural History Museum, Arusha, Tanzania II Lower Lower P4. Specimen is pictured on left in image 1. Specimen is pictured on left in image 2. Yes Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Homininae Hominini Homo habilis sunsu lato No
OH 81 4021 19 - SHK R-PAR-f 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania II Upper Lower portion. In overlying clay tuff. Dominguez-Rodrigo, M., Pickering, T.R., Diez-Martinm, F. et al. (2012) Earliest Porotic Hyperostosis on a 1.5-Million-Year-Old Hominin, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. PLoS ONE 7(10): e46414. doi:10.1371/jou 2012/6/29 292 - Proyecto Olduvai Unknown Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 62/998 8412 FEM-f, TOOTH 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania -- Femoral head and teeth. 264 - Leakey family expedition Unknown Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No
OH 63 3778 6 - FLK NN M 1988 122 - National Museum and House of Culture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania I "Found near the OH 7 site" -R. Clarke 2011. Specimen is a lower molar. Specimen previously housed at National Museum of Kenya. 264 - Leakey family expedition Unknown Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae Australopithecus No
OLD 60 8413 5 - FLK FIB-f, TIB-f, UK-f 104 - Unknown I -- Unknown Mammalia Primates Anthropoidea Haplorhini Hominoidea Hominidae No