Leakey's third expedition and first to Olduvai and Kanjera

After collecting 77 handaxes in 4 days the Leakey and Reck expedition further went on to collect handaxes and stone tools from all 5 layers which represented the full sequence of the evolution of handaxe tool-making culture at Olduvai.

From the lowest layer or Bed 1 would be the crudely struck pebbles that Leakey would name Oldowan. They have kept that name ever since.

This one pictured below is from Olduvai and made from a lava pebble.

By Archaeomoonwalker, CC BY 3.0, Link

The distinctive characteristics are that they are usually very crude, are made from a large pebble or cobble and often have a significant portion of the original pebble still intact as can be seen below.

By Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

They get better with time but still retain many of their distinguishing characteristics.

By José-Manuel Benito Álvarez (España) —> Locutus Borg - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1892114

Leakey being led by Reck quickly was convinced that the Oldoway skeleton was not a burial and so Leakey hastily published that the skeleton was :

"almost beyond question, the oldest known authentic skeleton of Homo Sapiens"

After the expedition moved on to Kanjera they were able to find bits and pieces of skulls and a mandible.

After publishing his findings and returning to England, Leakey was riding the crest of a wave, with skeptics beginning to believe that Africa may just be "the cradle of mankind" as Leakey asserted.

But trouble was brewing... and dark clouds were gathering.