Ethiopia
Lower Valley of the Omo
The Lower Valley of the Omo is a prehistoric site where many hominid fossils have been found that contribute to the study of human evolution.
They were located in up to 3.5 million-year-old sedimentary deposits. Fossils belonging to the genera Australopithecus and Homo sapiens have been found at several archaeological sites, as well as tools made from quartzite, the oldest of which date back to about 2.4 million years ago.
Community Perspective: there never has been an official map that shows the inscribed area, so ‘visiting’ this site is problematic. The more so because its OUV lies with the hominid remains and people mostly go to the Omo region to see its contemporary tribes, as is reflected in the reviews below.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Lower Valley of the Omo (ID: 17)
- Country
- Ethiopia
- Status
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Inscribed 1980
Site history
History of Lower Valley of the Omo
- 1980: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- 1979: Deferred
- Bureau meeting - info requested in 78 still not in place
- 1978: Deferred
- Bureau meeting - info requested
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- iii
- iv
Links
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- visitethiopia.travel — Visit Ethiopia Lower Omo Valley
- worldheritagesite.org — The site has been lacking a map, proper boundaries and buffer zone since inscription. Ethiopia is working on it, but as recently as 2022 has not submitted it.You can view the proposed area at this link
Community Information
- Community Category
- Paleontology: Human evolution
Travel Information
No travel information
Recent Connections
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Misleading WHS Names
The geographical scope is unclear due t… -
Fossils
"have produced numerous hominid and ani… -
Inscribed at third attempt or more
Def 1978, Def 1979, Ins 1980
Connections of Lower Valley of the Omo
- Individual People
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Leakey Family
Richard Leakey was invited by Haile Selassie to search for fossils there (1967).
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- History
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Early Hominid Remains
"discovery of the earliest known fossil fragments of Homo Sapiens that have been dated circa 195,000 years old."
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- Ecology
- Damaged
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'Threatened' by Dams
Gibe III Dam under construction on the Omo River
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- World Heritage Process
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Inscribed at third attempt or more
Def 1978, Def 1979, Ins 1980
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- Timeline
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Pliocene
The oldest sediments are 3.5 Million years old (Pliocene). -
Middle Pleistocene
The oldest hominid remains are 200,000 years old (Ionian).
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- WHS Names
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Named after a River
Omo -
Misleading WHS Names
The geographical scope is unclear due to lack of official map, and site is cultural while natural is implied by focus on the Valley. Suggestion for an alternative name: ‘Hominid fossil sites in the Lower Omo Valley’.
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News
No news.
Recent Visitors
View all (44)
Visitors of Lower Valley of the Omo
- Alexander Barabanov
- Ali Zingstra
- amychemu
- Ana Lozano
- Atila Ege
- Bamse
- Boj
- David Marton
- Eva Kisgyorgy
- Fan Yibo
- Gernot
- Harry Mitsidis
- HE SHAOMIN
- Jarek Pokrzywnicki
- JoeriNortier
- John Smaranda
- KarenBMoore
- La Concy
- Loic Pedras
- Longdutch
- Luis Filipe Gaspar
- Marcobrey
- Martin
- Michael Novins
- Morodhi
- NataliaS
- Nihal Ege
- Philipp Leu
- Pieter Dijkshoorn
- Piotr Wasil
- Randi Thomsen
- Rvieira
- Sascha Grabow
- SHIHE HUANG
- Solivagant
- Svein Elias
- Szucs Tamas
- Theyeattheworld
- Thomas Buechler
- Thomas Kunz
- tony0001
- Weecheng
- Westwards
- Wojciech Fedoruk
Reserved for members.
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