lower valley of the omo
states: [ethiopia]
category: cultural
year: 1980
location: Southern Nation Nationalities & Peoples Region
region: Africa
latitude/longitude: 4.8000000000, 35.9666666700
unesco id: 17
world heritage site: 17
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The Lower Valley of the Omo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ethiopia, is a renowned prehistoric location celebrated for its significant contributions to understanding human evolution. It has yielded numerous hominid fossils, including early Homo sapiens remains dating back 195,000 years, alongside Australopithecus fragments and ancient stone tools from about 2.4 million years ago. These discoveries, preserved in ancient sedimentary deposits near Lake Turkana, highlight the site’s critical role in paleoanthropological research. The region’s remote setting in southwestern Ethiopia also supports its preservation, offering a unique glimpse into humanity’s distant past.