East Rudolf

Archaeological site on the east side of Lake Turkana (see Turkana, Lake) in East Africa, where many fossil remains have been found of hominids (precursors of humans). Dated relatively accurately to 1–2 million years ago by means of layers of volcanic ash, the site is providing a good picture of the lakeside environment in which early hominids lived. Finds from this site, especially ‘1470 man’, excavated by the British archaeologist Richard Leakey, have been important in interpretations of human ancestry.