Arusha — THE rocky place where the first
human being is believed to have 'walked earth' is in the process of
being placed under the care and supervision of the Ngorongoro
Conservation Area Authority (NCAA).
The Laetoli Archaeological site, famously known as 'cradle for
mankind' had previously been under the jurisdiction of the antiquity
department in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
The area is where the oldest foot prints of the creatures alleged to be the first human ancestors have been immortalised on rock.
The NCAA Public Relations Manager, Mr Adam Akyoo, revealed here that the Laetoli Site had always lied within the NCAA but its management, as well as that of the adjacent placed, Oldupai Gorge Museum were being controlled by the Antiquity Department.
The government apparently now wants to transfer the Laetoli archaeological site to NCAA for easy management, because much of the protection of the human feet imprints dating back to nearly 5 million years is mostly natural conservation.
Last year, a team of archaeologists from the United States, led by the Tanzanian researcher, Prof Charles Musiba, started fresh excavation at Laetoli historical site, in search of another set of hominid footprints dating nearly 4 million years.
The new hunt for the volcanic imprints of people believed to have walked on the archaeological site over 3.6 million years ago, is set to complement the already discovered but rock covered, section of hominid track-way, which was briefly exposed by scientists in 2010 as directed by President Jakaya Kikwete.
Measuring some 25 meters long, the already exposed human ancestors' footprints, according to Prof Musiba, signal that the ground before and after the set must conceal more hominid pedal imprints and his team have thus started the mission to discover them.
Once all the available hominid footprints get exposed, the proposed project to build a large, state-of-the-art, scientific museum around the site will begin, this was also a directive from the president after he visited the site over two years ago.
The 'Jurassic' museum which will actually be a large dome that creates its own weather condition through special machinery and high-tech electronics, will need 30 million US Dollars to be built according to the experts.
The government through President Kikwete recently promised to foot the bill for the construction of the stateof- the art, giant technological 'green house' type of a museum which will be able to regulate its own temperature and weather conditions in order to preserve the footprints and display the marvel to visitors.
The responsibility to oversee the 'modern Jurassic park' construction was bestowed onto the NCAA when the President toured the area in 2011.
Believed to have been officially discovered by Dr Mary Leakey in 1976, the 25-metre-long tracks of hominid footprints are sited in 14 locations at the Laetoli site in Ngorongoro, but in 1995 they got covered with an elaborate stony protective layer following claims that they had "started to deteriorate with continued exposure."
The tracks remained hidden and out of sight since then amid mixed reactions from conservators and international organisations worldwide.
The historical footprints are preserved in powdery volcanic ash from what scientists believe to be an eruption of the 20 kilometres-long Sadiman Volcanos. Soft rain cemented the 15 cm thick layer bearing the imprints without destroying the prints.
The hominid sole prints were produced by three individuals, one walking in the footprints of the other, making the original tracks difficult to discover.
As the tracks lead in the same direction, scientists say they might have been produced by a group. German anthropologist Ludwig Kohl-Larsen was the first to go to Laetoli to look for fossil remains. In 1934 he found the jaw of Australopithecus afarensis.
SOURCE; Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)
The area is where the oldest foot prints of the creatures alleged to be the first human ancestors have been immortalised on rock.
The NCAA Public Relations Manager, Mr Adam Akyoo, revealed here that the Laetoli Site had always lied within the NCAA but its management, as well as that of the adjacent placed, Oldupai Gorge Museum were being controlled by the Antiquity Department.
The government apparently now wants to transfer the Laetoli archaeological site to NCAA for easy management, because much of the protection of the human feet imprints dating back to nearly 5 million years is mostly natural conservation.
Last year, a team of archaeologists from the United States, led by the Tanzanian researcher, Prof Charles Musiba, started fresh excavation at Laetoli historical site, in search of another set of hominid footprints dating nearly 4 million years.
The new hunt for the volcanic imprints of people believed to have walked on the archaeological site over 3.6 million years ago, is set to complement the already discovered but rock covered, section of hominid track-way, which was briefly exposed by scientists in 2010 as directed by President Jakaya Kikwete.
Measuring some 25 meters long, the already exposed human ancestors' footprints, according to Prof Musiba, signal that the ground before and after the set must conceal more hominid pedal imprints and his team have thus started the mission to discover them.
Once all the available hominid footprints get exposed, the proposed project to build a large, state-of-the-art, scientific museum around the site will begin, this was also a directive from the president after he visited the site over two years ago.
The 'Jurassic' museum which will actually be a large dome that creates its own weather condition through special machinery and high-tech electronics, will need 30 million US Dollars to be built according to the experts.
The government through President Kikwete recently promised to foot the bill for the construction of the stateof- the art, giant technological 'green house' type of a museum which will be able to regulate its own temperature and weather conditions in order to preserve the footprints and display the marvel to visitors.
The responsibility to oversee the 'modern Jurassic park' construction was bestowed onto the NCAA when the President toured the area in 2011.
Believed to have been officially discovered by Dr Mary Leakey in 1976, the 25-metre-long tracks of hominid footprints are sited in 14 locations at the Laetoli site in Ngorongoro, but in 1995 they got covered with an elaborate stony protective layer following claims that they had "started to deteriorate with continued exposure."
The tracks remained hidden and out of sight since then amid mixed reactions from conservators and international organisations worldwide.
The historical footprints are preserved in powdery volcanic ash from what scientists believe to be an eruption of the 20 kilometres-long Sadiman Volcanos. Soft rain cemented the 15 cm thick layer bearing the imprints without destroying the prints.
The hominid sole prints were produced by three individuals, one walking in the footprints of the other, making the original tracks difficult to discover.
As the tracks lead in the same direction, scientists say they might have been produced by a group. German anthropologist Ludwig Kohl-Larsen was the first to go to Laetoli to look for fossil remains. In 1934 he found the jaw of Australopithecus afarensis.
SOURCE; Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)
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