Gogo Prehistoric Site

Archaeological Sites in Migori

Gogo Falls Prehistoric Site: Pleistocene Age

Gogo Falls Prehistoric Site is a multi-component open site found in the eastern Lake Victoria basin, not far from the present-day Gogo Falls Hydroelectric Plant. The sequence of occupation horizons at the site spans several millennia over which a number of major technological and economic changes occurred. These include the first appearance of pottery, domestic animals and iron artefacts. Numerous other cultural traditions, recognized on the basis of pottery and stone artefact assemblages, are represented in the deposits at Gogo Prehistoric Site.

Therefore, this undeveloped and widely unknown destination is of paramount importance to the reconstruction of the later prehistory of the eastern portion of the Lake Victoria basin. Archaeological research at Gogo Falls, and the Kenyan Lake Victoria basin region, began with the efforts of an amateur archaeologist, Archdeacon W.E. Owen, who investigated a varied range of sites. Owen made contact with Louis Leakey early in the latter’s career with the result that L. Leakey devoted considerable efforts to investigation of the Pleistocene deposits at Kanam and Kanjera and the Miocene fossdiferous beds at Rusinga, in Homa Bay County.

Later on, an assemblage of pottery from Gogo Prehistoric Site, assigned to “Kansyore ware”, was included in Collett and Robertshaw’s 1983 analysis of Kenyan ceramics. This assemblage had been collected from the surface of the site in 1980. Gogo Falls was first mentioned in archaeological literature by Lofgren in 1967, who noted sherds of undecorated hemispherical bowls, two sherds with decoration of parallel channels and another with assorted stamped chevrons.

A small excavation made in 1981 at Gogo Falls revealed the first evidence for domestic animals in apparent association with Oltome pottery, leading to broad based speculations about how these animals may have been integrated into a subsistence and settlement system which included the shell middens on the shores of Lake Victoria in which domesticates were absent. The site at Gogo Falls is located on the hillside of Kanyamkago Hills on the west bank of Gucha River.


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.


Migori is a diverse and culturally rich county with vast agricultural potential, significant mineral resources, and proximity to important cross-border trade routes. While it faces challenges, Migori County offers great opportunities for touring, especially with attractions like Thimlich Ohinga and Lake Victoria.

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