Melka Kunture and Balchit Archaeological and Paleontological Site Inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List

Addis Ababa: Melaka Kunture and Balchit Archeology and paleontological site has been registered as world heritage during the 46th annual conference of UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi, India.Located in the Upper Awash Valley in Ethiopia, the serial property is a cluster of prehistoric sites that preserve archaeological and paleontological records - including footprints - that testify to the area's occupation by the hominin groups from two million years ago.The sites, situated about 2,000 to 2,200 meters above sea level, yielded Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis and archaic Homo sapiens fossils, documented in well-dated strata in association with various tools made from volcanic rocks.The cultural sequence includes four consecutive phases of the Oldowan, Acheulean, Middle Stone Age and Late Stone Age techno-complexes.Fragments of palaeo-landscapes, preserved buried under volcanic and sedimentary deposits with fossil fauna and flora, allow reconstruction of the high-mountain ecosyst em of the Ethiopian Highlands during the Pleistocene.Thus, it can be drawn on the adaptation of hominin groups to the challenges and climatic conditions of high altitudes, according to the Ethiopian Embassy in India.The embassy added it is delighted to share the news that Melaka Kunture and Balchit Archeology and paleontological site has been registered as world heritage during the 46th annual conference of UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi, India.Source: Ethiopian News Agency