Serengeti General Management Plan

Cultural
National and World Heritage status
B. Park Values & Purpose
The Serengeti National Park was one of the first areas to be gazetted as a World Heritage
Site by UNESCO in 1972, based on the range of Exceptional Resource Values described in
this section. In 1981 SENAPA, together with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, became a
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1981; one of the world’s largest.
Traditional cultural sites
The Serengeti is home to a diversity of cultures, as reflected in the existence of four major
language groups within the ecosystem: Bantu (Sukuma farmers), Nilotic (Maasai and Kuria
pastoralists), Cushitic (Iraqw agriculturalists) and Khoisan (Hadzabe hunter-gatherers). Although
the Maasai are no longer allowed to graze their cattle in the Serengeti National Park,
they have inhabited the area since the 17th Century. Evidence of this can be seen at the
Moru Kopjes with their well-preserved Maasai rock paintings. The Moru Kopjes are also the
site of the famous Gong Rock, which makes a deep sound when struck and was used by
Maasai to summon tribal members for ceremonies (see Figure B.4 below). To the west of the
Park at Handajega there are also a number of reported traditional worship sites.
Figure B.4: Gong Rock and Maasai rock paintings at Moru Kopjes
Stone Age heritage
The Serengeti Plains have been critical to the unravelling of human origins, with notable discoveries
such as the unearthing of the hominoid skull Australopithecus ("Zinjanthropus")
boisei in the Olduvai Gorge and the early hominid footprints at Laetoli on the SE border of
the Park.
Within the Park itself, there are important Middle Stone Age sites at Seronera and Ichumbe
Kopje near the Nyamara River. Current archaeological research in the Park is focusing on
Middle Stone Age artefacts and faunal remains in the alluvial deposits of the Loiyangalani
River. Archaeological samples recovered through test excavations have indicated a high potential
for shedding light on key issues in human evolution. For example, the stone tools can
reveal the technological and predatory competence of the humans who made them.
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