Travel Guide Melka-Kunturé

This Paleolithic site, which stretches over 5 km along the banks of the Awash, was uncovered by archaeologist Dekker in 1963, then excavated by French teams from 1965 onwards. To date, some fifty living sites have been excavated, corresponding to hunting camps occupied successively by Homo erectus and then Homo sapiensbetween 1.7 million and 200,000 years ago. Don't miss a visit to the small museum dedicated to the site, then take a trail lined with didactic explanatory panels leading to the most significant sites. On these excavation sites, various animal bones and rudimentary basalt and obsidian meat-cutting tools have been discovered, taking us back to the origins of mankind. The identification of animal skeletons, specific to different environments, provides clues to the climatic changes that led to the evolution of the vegetation of this humid zone, covered with forests, towards an environment dominated by savannah.