Major Archaeological Sites in Kenya
Africa as the Cradle of Mankind
6 million years there was a portentous wend in the paradigm of the evolution of species, as the foremost ancestor of humankind set about evolving the features unique to its kind. Homo sapiens, the à la mode and only extant human species, belongs to a group of over 180 divergent species, some extanct, others that have disappeared, and is not per-se a direct descendant of the monkey species as the modest like to simplify. The origins of evolution and culture of the early human can be traced back to Africa, where those significant steps over millions of years to our current form existed, since the very first ancestor.
For which reason it is prestigious for every country where discoveries have been unearthed (Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and South Africa) to be considered as a part of the cradle of mankind. Africa’s place in human evolution is determined by its related geography, climate and environmental variation, whose history began about 10 million years, with the split of the common ancestor to Paninae (chimps) and Homininae (humans). 6 million years later, almost 4 million ago, Kenyanthropus platyops, Australopithecus bahreghazali, Australopithecus anamensis, Australopithecus afarensis, Lucy Selam and Australopithecus arose.
3 million years ago marked the beginning of culture. Major archaeological sites have been identified and excavated in Eastern Africa: The Gona area, the Lower Omo Valley, Afar and Shungura in Ethiopia; Turkana in Kenya and the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania are among the earliest archaeological sites that preserve the history of early occupation and living sites. 2 million years ago the genus Homo moved, enlarged his territory and reached North Africa, the Mediterranean and, for the first time, beyond Africa, to the Middle East giving rise to: Neanderthal Man, Denisova Man, Java Man, Flores Man, Modern Man among many others. Modern man finished the peopling of the earth during that time.
Momentously, in 1974, Donald Johanson discovered Australopithecus Afarensis in Ethiopia. Perhaps the most famous fossil is that of a female barely a metre of high and 30 Kg of weight, which he named ‘Lucy’ (dated 3.2 mya), the fossils found suggest the possible existence of the ‘first family’. Ergo, Africa has been biologically and culturally active and creative, and is essential in the history of mankind, as the first 8 million years of this history (10 – 12 mya) are only African. Today, Sibiloi National Park, Lower Awash Valley, Sterkfontein, Kromdraai, and Swartkrans are inscribed as World Heritage Sites for their contributions to the understanding of paleo-environments than any other region in the world.
Kenya as a Cradle of Mankind
Kenya contains sites of fossil finds that are key to the study of man’s evolution, early development and history. In the western part of the country, deposits have been found dating back over 20 million years. More pre-historic sites depicting early development and history of man are spread all along the Rift Valley. The Sibiloi National Park, famed throughout the world for its wildlife, also contains Koobi Foora, the most significant of several site in Kenya at which the remains of early man have been unearthed to give links in the chain of human evolution.
Kenya is known for its significant archaeological findings related to human origins. the Rift Valley region, at sites like Koobi Fora and Olorgesailie, has yielded fossils and artifacts that provide crucial evidence of early hominins, dated millennias. Along the coast, too, archaeology reveals the history of the Swahili civilization.
Index of Archaeological Sites in Kenya
Baringo County - Kipsaraman Museum, Homa Bay County - Kanjera Prehistoric Site, Kanam Prehistoric Site, Kajiado County - Olorgesailie Prehistoric Site, Kilifi County - Panga ya Saidi, Kisumu County - Muguruk Prehistoric Site, Maboko Island, Marsabit County - Koobi Fora, Illeret Prehistoric Site, Migori County - Gogo Falls Prehistoric Site, Nandi County - Songhor Prehistoric Site, Nakuru County - Kariandusi Museum, Hyrax Hill Museum, River Njoro Caves, Samburu County - Nachola Site, Turkana County - The Nariokotome Boy Site, Lokalalei Site, Turkana Basin Institute, Logatham Valley
