In Northern Malawi around Karonga region are several significant fossil sites, where remains have been discovered of dinosaurs, early humans and prehistoric remains.
The small town of Karonga on the northern shores of Lake Malawi is close to the southern Tanzania road border and consists of a handful of shops and banks and a few small basic guest houses near the lake.
Around Karonga are some exceptionally important areas where fossils have been discovered of great importance and there is now a museum in the town dedicated to this fascinating region and highlighting the cultural history of the area and showcasing some of the fossil finds. The Cultural and Museum Centre Karonga provides information and education for local people and preserves Malawi's cultural and natural history heritage. 240 million years of history of the Karonga region are explained here.
In 1991 the Malawian-German- American team of the 'Hominid Corridor Research Project' discovered the remains of a 2.5 Million year old lower jaw of Homo rudolfensis, one of our first ancestors. It was found 40km south of Karonga in Uraha village. This missing link in Malawi closed the gap between the famous hominid sites in Eastern and Southern Africa, connecting famous hominids like "Lucy" - Australopithecus afarensis in Ethiopia, and "Mrs. Ples" - Australopithecus africanus in South Africa. At Malema in 1996 just 11km from the musuem, 2.5 million year old remains of Australopithecus robustus were found. This area has also uncovered prehisotoric remains of animals such as extinct types of elephant.
The most prominant display in the museum is the 130 million year old fossil skeleton of Malawisaurus, a dinosaur discovered 45km away near Mwakashunguti village.
