 The first australopithecine fossil discovered in eastern Africa was an "A. boisei" skull excavated by Mary Leakey in 1959 in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.Since then, the Leakey family has continued to excavate the gorge, uncovering further evidence for australopithecines, as well as for "Homo habilis" and "Homo erectus".The scientific community took 20 more years to widely accept "Australopithecus" as a member of the human family tree.