Collection of hominid fossils found along the shores of Lake
The Koobi Fora site, excavated by the Leakey family and others, has proved to be the richest fund of hominid remains found anywhere in the world, yielding fossils that represent perhaps 230 individuals, including members of Homo habilis , H. erectus , and {{link=Australopithecus">Australopithecus . On the western shore was found a remarkably well preserved skeleton of an 11-year-old boy (the "Turkana Boy") later classified as H. ergaster or H. erectus and dated to с 1.8 million years ago. This surprisingly human specimen suggests that H. ergaster may have been the direct ancestor of the hominids that left Africa for Eurasia с 1 million years ago. See also human evolution .