Hominid fossils found since 1973 near the Awash River, about 185 mi (300 km) from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
The remains
representing at least 30 hominid individuals, including Lucy and the so-called First Family of 13 Australopithecus afarensis (see Australopithecus ) individuals who probably perished together
date from 3.4 to 2.9 million years ago. In the Middle Awash region just to the south, researchers have found some of the oldest known ( 0441; 4 million years old) hominid fossils, and in the adjacent Gona area some of the oldest known ( 0441; 2.6 million years old) stone tools have been identified. The lower valley of the Awash is a World Heritage site .