 in 1990.The researchers noticed that a novel protein domain that seemed to match the DUF1220 Pfam entry was present in multiple copies in this gene and in several other places on chromosome 1, which led them to establish 22 "NBPF" genes, and they named the domain the "NBPF repeat".In 2018, DUF1220 was renamed by its discoverers after Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, one of the most important archaeological sites for early humans, to reflect data indicating its role in human brain size and evolution.