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70-586: Koobi Fora / ˈ k uː b i ˈ f ɔː r ə / refers primarily to a region around Koobi Fora Ridge , located on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana in the territory of the nomadic Gabbra people . According to the National Museums of Kenya , the name comes from the Gabbra language : In the language of the Gabbra people who live near the site, the term Koobi Fora means a place of the commiphora and

140-514: A GPS system and has been trying to correlate the pinpricks to its data. Fossils are labelled with a KNM (Kenya National Museums) accession number, assigned on no other basis than the order in which it was assigned. The number may be preceded in scholarly literature by KNM, KNM-ET or KNM-ER, where ET and ER stand for East Turkana and East Rudolf, respectively, or just plain ER. Some notable areas are as follows. The first archaeological site, i.e., FxJj 1,

210-492: A Hungarian and an Austrian , on 6 March 1888. They were the first Europeans to have recorded visiting the lake after a long safari across East Africa. The lake kept its European name during the colonial period of British East Africa . However, the existence of the lake and its shape and location were well known in Europe long before Teleki conceived of his visit. At some unknown time, the lake acquired an alternative name as

280-541: A nameplate capacity of 850 kilowatts. As of October 2016 155 turbines had been installed with completion expected in 2017. It will be the largest wind power project in Africa. Full commercial operation achieved in March 2019. 100% Capacity Factor (meaning full 310 MW generated) achieved in March 2021. The Gibe III dam is already under construction by Ethiopia along its Omo River, with general recognition that it will cause

350-422: A "core reduction strategy"; that is, more and thinner flakes per mass of cores. This "flake production model" made possible a better "flake utility model." More and better flakes meant better utilisation of carcasses and therefore a need for fewer carcasses, less hunting, etc. Moreover, the increased number of flakes available made ranging farther from the source of the stone possible and endowed more staying power to

420-437: A 1968 study by Alistair Graham. The lake also has a large population of large water turtles, particularly in the area of Central Island. The Turkana mud turtle is endemic to the lake. Over the dry grasslands ranges a frail population of grazing mammals and predators. The grazers are chiefly Grevy's zebra , Burchell's zebra , the beisa oryx , Grant's gazelle , the topi and the reticulated giraffe . They are hunted by

490-505: A conduit between the hominid and access to resources such as meat and marrow. According to the analysis, the conduit became more efficient between KBS and Karari Olduwan; that is, hominins obtained more of a return for a given output of energy and could do more. The chief technological development was the edge. The KBS utilised ".977 cm of edge per gram of mass", but the Karari utilised "2.4 cm of edge", etc., an advantage obtained through

560-536: A dry riverbed, the Lomekwi 3 site recovered primitive hammers, anvils, and cutting tools.  However, the emergence of Acheulean technology no longer assumes that tool use was a distinguishing factor among Homo species as Australopithecus afarensis were also using simple tools prior to the appearance of the genus Homo , over 3.3 million years ago. Australopithecus anamensis fossils discovered by Meave Leakey in 1994 date to around 4 million years ago, setting

630-418: A further drop in the lake level.[29] Friends of Lake Turkana, a Kenyan organisation representing indigenous groups in northwestern Kenya whose livelihoods are linked to Lake Turkana, had previously estimated that the dam could reduce the level of Lake Turkana by up to 10 meter affecting up to 300,000 people.[30] This could cause the brackish water to increase in salinity to where it may no longer be drinkable by

700-649: A high risk for a magnitude 7 or 8 earthquake in the Gibe III dam region. The magnitude of the impact that the dam and possible irrigation projects induced by the dam will have on the water level of Lake Turkana is controversial. A hydrological study conducted for the African Development Bank in November 2010 concluded that the filling of the dam will reduce the lake's water level by two metres, if no irrigation will be undertaken. Irrigation would cause

770-536: A major decrease in river flow downstream and a serious reduction of inflow to Kenya's Lake Turkana, which receives 90 per cent of its waters from the river. According to the ARWG [citation needed] report, these changes will destroy the survival means of at least 200,000 pastoralists, flood-dependent agriculturalists and fishers along the Omo River 300,000 pastoralists and fishers around the shores of Lake Turkana – plunging

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840-414: A method that produced better results: he organised and trained a search team of Kenyans, which became known as "the hominid gang", under the leadership of Kamoya Kimeu —"hominid" was then the term used for the present-day meaning of "hominin". They found the majority of the 200-plus hominin fossils discovered to date. Koobi Fora is perhaps best known for its specimens of the genus Homo , but those of

910-564: A profound influence on the level of Lake Turkana and adjacent water bodies. The archaeoastronomical site Namoratunga which has been dated circa 300 BC is located near Lake Turkana. Hominin fossils of some of the earliest human ancestors have been found in the Turkana Basin. Lake Turkana is considered the cradle of human life because of the diverse hominid species found living millions of years apart, in this desert landscape.  These fossils have facilitated our understanding of

980-436: A source of diseases spread by contaminated water. Increasingly, communities on the lake's shores rely on underground springs for drinking water. The same characteristics that make it unsuitable for drinking limit its use in irrigation . The climate is hot and very dry. The rocks of the surrounding area are predominantly volcanic . Central Island is an active volcano, emitting vapour. Outcrops and rocky shores are found on

1050-538: Is a saline lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley , in northern Kenya , with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia . It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake . By volume it is the world's fourth-largest salt lake after the Caspian Sea , Issyk-Kul , and Lake Van (passing the shrinking South Aral Sea ), and among all lakes it ranks 24th. Lake Turkana

1120-586: Is now threatened by the construction of the Gilgel Gibe III Dam in Ethiopia due to the damming of the Omo river which supplies most of the lake's water. Although the lake commonly has been—and to some degree still is—used for drinking water, its salinity (slightly brackish ) and very high levels of fluoride (much higher than in fluoridated water ) generally make it unsuitable, and it has also been

1190-406: Is sensitive to climatic and seasonal fluctuations. For purposes of comparison, the historic level of Lake Turkana declined from a high of 20m above today's level in the 1890s to the same level as today in the 1940s and 1950s. Then it increased again gradually by 7 metres to reach a peak around 1980, and subsequently decreased again.[31] The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) summary of

1260-545: Is the following: Koobi Fora is the region; the region is divided into fossil collecting areas (e.g., Area 102, 103, 140, etc.); within fossil collection areas there are archaeological sites (e.g., FxJj 1, FxJj 10, etc.) and hominin palaeontological localities, which are usually named after the National Museum of Kenya accession number assigned to the important bones found. For example, in Area 131 hominin skull KNM-ER 1470

1330-696: The Jade Sea from its turquoise colour seen approaching from a distance. The colour comes from algae that rise to the surface in calm weather. This is likely also a European name. J. W. Gregory reported in The Geographical Journal of 1894 that it was called "Basso Narok", meaning "Black Lake" in the Samburu language . Likewise, the nearby Ethiopian Lake Chew Bahir is called "Basso Naibor" in Samburu, meaning "White Lake". The Samburu are among

1400-640: The Koobi Fora Base Camp on a large sandspit projecting into the lake near the ridge, which he called the Koobi Fora Spit . Consequently, the government of Kenya in 1973 reserved the region as Sibiloi National Park , establishing a headquarters for the National Museums of Kenya on Koobi Fora Spit. The reserve is well-maintained and is well-guarded by friendly but armed park police. Protection of sites and especially of wildlife are of prime concern. Exploration and excavation continue under

1470-519: The National Museums of Kenya 's curator for all prehistoric sites in Kenya. Significant fossil discoveries by Kimeu include a Homo habilis skull known as KNM-ER 1813 , an almost complete Homo ergaster skeleton known as KNM-WT 15000 or Turkana Boy (also known as Nariokotome boy), and in 1964, the jaw of a Paranthropus boisei hominid that is known as the Peninj Mandible . Kimeu

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1540-677: The Turkana Basin . The highest is 100 m above the surface of the lake (only approximate, as the lake level fluctuates), which occurred about 9500 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene as part of the African humid period . It is generally theorised that Turkana was part of the upper Nile system at that time, connecting to Lake Baringo at the southern end and the White Nile in the north, and that volcanic land adjustments severed

1610-495: The little stint , the wood sandpiper , and the common sandpiper . The African skimmer ( Rhyncops flavirostris ) nests in the banks of Central Island. The white-breasted cormorant ( Phalacrocorax lucidus ) ranges over the lake, as do many other waterbirds. The greater flamingo wades in its shallows. Heuglin's bustard ( Neotis heuglinii ) is found in the east of the lake region. The lake formerly contained Africa's largest population of Nile crocodiles : 14,000, as estimated in

1680-574: The mantle , began separating from the rest of Africa, moving to the northeast. Currently, the graben is 320 km wide in the north of the lake, 170 km in the south. This rift is one of two, and is called the Great or Eastern Rift. There is another to the west, the Western Rift. Lake Turkana is a unique feature of the East African landscape. Besides being a permanent desert lake, it is

1750-540: The KBS Tuff during the 1970s helped to spearhead the development of modern potassium/argon and argon/argon geological dating methods. In addition, the unique fusion between geochronology and mammal evolutionary studies has made the Koobi Fora Formation a standard for interpreting biochronology, environmental change, and ecology for all of Pliocene-Pleistocene Africa. A geologic "member" refers to

1820-603: The Turkana land. The area is primarily clay-based and is more alkaline than seawater. After the independence of Kenya , the president, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta , renamed it in 1975 after the Turkana , the predominant tribe there. The Turkana refer to the lake as Anam Ka'alakol , meaning "the sea of many fish". It is from the name Ka'alakol that Kalokol , a town on the western shore of Lake Turkana, east of Lodwar , derives its name. The previous indigenous Turkana name for Lake Turkana

1890-607: The area around Lake Turkana, which is evidence for numerous migrations of diverse people over thousands of years. The current language groups include at least three separate subgroups of the Nilotic ( Nilo-Saharan ) and Cushitic ( Afro-Asiatic ) language families, which have further subdivided into more than 12 languages surrounding the lake today. In the early Holocene (during the Holocene Climatic Optimum ), lake levels were high and fishing and foraging were

1960-510: The area. The archaeologists, such as Glynn Isaac , developed a co-ordinate system. A site acquired a tag consisting of a 4-letter co-ordinate identifier, such as FxJj, which refers to a small section at the intersection of x and j within a larger section at the intersection of F and J, followed by the number of the site: FxJj 82 refers to the 82nd site within FxJj. In the year 2000 the KFRP went over to

2030-594: The auspices of the Koobi Fora Research Project (KFRP), which collaborates with a number of interested universities and individuals across the world. Formerly the term Koobi Fora has been used to mean one or two initial sites, or the sand spit. Today it can mean any or all points in Sibiloi National Park. The term East Turkana also has come into use with the larger meaning. The simple hierarchy of scientific places for Koobi Fora

2100-403: The beginning date of bipedalism back half a million years. Richard Leakey has led numerous anthropological expeditions in the area which have led to many important discoveries of hominin remains. The two-million-year-old skull 1470 was found in 1972. It was originally thought to be Homo habilis , but the scientific name Homo rudolfensis , derived from the old name of this lake (Rudolf)

2170-520: The cichlids Haplochromis macconneli , H. rudolfianus , H. turkanae and Hemichromis exsul , the barb Enteromius turkanae , the catfish Chrysichthys turkana , the robber tetras Brycinus ferox and B. minutus , the Rudolf lates Lates longispinis , the lampeyes Lacustricola jeanneli and Micropanchax rudolfianus , and the cyprinid Neobola stellae . Non-endemics include species such as Nile tilapia , mango tilapia , bichirs ,

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2240-632: The connection. Such a hypothesis explains the Nile species in the lake, such as the crocodiles and the Nile perch. High water levels also occurred approximately 9000, 6000 and 5000 years ago, each of which were followed by drops in lake level of more than 40m in less than 200 years. It is thought that changes in the position of the Congo Air Boundary affected the ability of moisture from the Atlantic Ocean to reach eastern Africa, which had

2310-483: The dominant tribes in the lake Turkana region when the explorers came." What the native form of this phrase was, what it might mean, and in which language is not clear. The major biomes are the lake itself, which is an aquatic biome, and the surrounding region, which is classified as desert and xeric shrubland . The Chalbi Desert is east of the lake. During moister times, a dry grassland appears, featuring Aristida adcensionis and A. mutabilis . During drier times,

2380-436: The dynamic human evolution process and implies that they descended from more than one common ancestor, diverging into multiple lineages. The changing forest environment forced the early humans to adapt to a more open grassland that increased their exposure to threatening predators. Volcanic ash and drier climates were ideal for preserving these human fossils but it also caused the lake to shrink or disappear at times.  In

2450-521: The east and south shores of the lake, while dunes, spits and flats are on the west and north, at a lower elevation. On-shore and off-shore winds can be extremely strong, as the lake warms and cools more slowly than the land. Sudden, violent storms are frequent. Three rivers (the Omo , Turkwel and Kerio ) flow into the lake, but lacking outflow , its only water loss is by evaporation. Lake volume and dimensions are variable. For example, its level fell by 10 m (33 ft) between 1975 and 1993. Despite

2520-562: The eastern shore at the Nataruk Site, this region provides considerable insight to the way these early humans thrived and survived the inconsistent climate along the lake shore and beyond.   Homo erectus is the closest of Homo sapiens ' ancestors and contended to be the first hominin to cross the Levantine corridor out of Africa, into Europe and Asia 1.8 million years ago.   Many language groups are represented in

2590-538: The elephantfish Mormyrus kannume , African arowana , African knifefish , Distichodus niloticus , the Nile perch and numerous others. During the early Holocene , the water level of the lake was higher, and it overflowed into the Nile River, allowing fish and crocodiles access. Consequently, the non-endemic fishes in the lake are mainly riverine species of Nilotic origin. Some of the non-endemics do not breed in

2660-577: The firm that builds the dam this would reduce the water level in the lake by "less than 50 cm per year for three years" and that salinity "will not change in any way".[26] According to the International Lake Environment Committee, 90% of Lake Turkana's water is delivered by the Omo River on which the Dam would be built.[31] With no outlet, Lake Turkana loses 2.3 meters of water every year to evaporation, and its level

2730-400: The first of the genus Homo . Then Homo rudolfensis was found by Richard Leakey below the 1.89 million year old KBS tuff; thus, it is older than that date, but is conventionally dated to it. Searching for and finding fossils in such a large area is another difficult problem. One solution has been to organise all persons present into a group to sweep a designated area. Richard Leakey devised

2800-655: The genus Australopithecus also have been found. The following species are represented: Australopithecus and Homo seem to have coexisted in African regions for several hundred thousand years. One possible explanation is different food sources. It appears that the Australopithecus genus evolved in eastern Africa around 4 million years ago before spreading throughout the continent and eventually becoming extinct somewhat after 2 million years ago. Large quantities of stone tools have been found at Koobi Fora both on

2870-695: The grass disappears. The shrublands contain dwarf shrubs, such as Duosperma eremophilum and Indigofera spinosa . Near the lake are doum palms . Both phytoplankton and zooplankton are found in the lake. Of the former, cyanobacteria are represented by Microcystis aeruginosa and microalgae by Botryococcus braunii . Also present are Anabaenopsis arnoldii , Planctonema lauterbornii , Oocystis gigas , Sphaerocystis schroeteri , and some others. The zooplankton includes copepods , cladocerans and protozoans . Compared to other large African lakes, Turkana has relatively few fish species. The lake holds about 50 fish species, including 12 endemics :

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2940-435: The hunt. Koobi Fora encompasses a small depocenter , underlain by Pliocene basalts and filled with nearly 600 meters of Pliocene- Pleistocene sediments , dating from about four-million to one-million years ago. These sediments are attributed to the Koobi Fora Formation, which consists of eight members that are delimited by water-lain tuffs (volcanic ash). Most early human fossils and archaeological remains derive from

3010-441: The indigenous groups around the lake. Currently, the salinity of the water is about 2332 mg/L, and it is estimated that a 10-meter decrease in the water level of Lake Turkana could cause the salinity to rise to 3397 mg/L.[20] Raising salinity could also drastically reduce the number of fish in the lake, which the people around Lake Turkana depend on for sustenance and their livelihoods. According to critics, this "will condemn

3080-427: The lack of outflow, in ecology it is often regarded as a part of—or at least associated with—the Nile basin because of its prehistoric connection to this system and the similarities in their aquatic faunas . Due to temperature (its surface water typically is 27–31 °C [81–88 °F] and the mean air temperature of the region generally is similar or slightly higher), aridity and geographic inaccessibility,

3150-418: The lake retains its wild character. Nile crocodiles are found in great abundance on the flats. The rocky shores are home to scorpions and carpet vipers . The lake is rich in fish and fishing is very important to the local economy, but this is threatened by falling water levels and overfishing . Lake Turkana National Parks are now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Sibiloi National Park lies on

3220-418: The lake to a not-so-slow death."[9] According to dam proponents, the impact on Lake Turkana will be limited to the temporary reduction in flows during the filling of the reservoir. Various sources state that the filling could take between one and three wet seasons.[9][26] The total storage volume of the reservoir of Gibe III dam will be between 11.75 and 14 billion cubic meter, depending on sources. According to

3290-459: The lake's eastern shore, while Central Island National Park and South Island National Park lie in the lake. Both are known for their Nile crocodiles. An abundance of hominid fossils have been discovered in the area surrounding Lake Turkana. The area still sees few visitors, being two days' drive from Nairobi . The lake is also an imaginary boundary of the Rendille and Borana and Oromo to

3360-476: The lake, but migrate up the Omo River and other affluents to breed. The lake is heavily fished. The Lake Turkana region is home to hundreds of species of birds native to Kenya . The East African Rift System also serves as a flyway for migrating birds, bringing in hundreds more. The birds are essentially supported by plankton masses in the lake, which also feed the fish. Some birds more common to Turkana are

3430-822: The layer between two tuffs, or layers of volcanic ash. The member is named from the bottom tuff, considered to begin it. Tuffs are used to date the paleontological and archaeological material found within them, and are used for dating hominin sites in East Africa generally. Chari Member (1.39-0.6 ma) Okote Member (1.64-1.39 ma) KBS Member (1.89-1.64 ma) Burgi Member (Includes Upper Burgi) (2.6-1.89 ma) Tulu Bor Member (3.35-2.6 ma) Lokochot Member (3.5-3.35 ma) Moiti Member (4.1-3.5 ma) Lonyumun Member (4.3-4.1 ma) 3°56′52″N 36°11′14″E  /  3.94778°N 36.18722°E  / 3.94778; 36.18722 Lake Turkana Lake Turkana ( / t ɜːr ˈ k ɑː n ə , - ˈ k æ n -/ )

3500-546: The lion and the cheetah . Elephants and the black rhinoceroses are no longer seen, although Teleki reported seeing (and shooting) many. Closer to the dust is the cushioned gerbil ( Gerbillus pulvinatus ). Lake Turkana is an East African Rift feature. A rift is a weak place in the Earth's crust due to the separation of two tectonic plates , often accompanied by a graben , or trough, in which lake water can collect. The rift began when East Africa, impelled by currents in

3570-417: The only lake that retains the waters originating from two separate catchment areas of the Nile . The Lake Turkana drainage basin draws its waters mainly from Kenya Highlands and Ethiopian Highlands . The basement rocks of the region have been dated by two analytical determinations to 522 and 510 million years ago (mya). No rift was in the offing at that time. A rift is signalled by volcanic activity through

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3640-856: The outcrops forming the rocky mountains and badlands around the lake. In the Omo portion of the basin, of the Mursi Basalts, the Mursi Formation is on the west side of the Omo, the Nkalabong on the Omo, and the Usno and Shungura east of the Omo. Probably the best known of the formations are the Koobi Fora on the east side of Turkana and the Nachukui on the west. Short-term fluctuations in lake level combined with periodic volcanic ash spewings over

3710-478: The period when domesticated animals were first introduced to the region about 5000 years ago, while later, the dead were buried in small grave cairns. People who live in the region today commonly practice mixed subsistence, switching between hunting, fishing and animal herding based on what is feasible in a given year. However, the construction of infrastructure like Christian missionary stations, energy extraction (wind, oil) and NGO aid distribution points have made

3780-433: The primary subsistence economies. This was mostly supplanted by animal-based agriculture by 5000 years ago, when the lake level was in a period of rapid fluctuation. During the later Holocene , human responses to climatic changes included intensive fishing when lake level was high and a shift to cattle herding when the level dropped. Megalithic graves are found widely distributed on the lake shores and appear to correspond to

3850-414: The project did not assess the impact of the dam on the water level and water quality of Lake Turkana.[32] The director of Kenya's Water Services Regulatory Board, John Nyaoro, argued that the dam would have no negative impact on Lake Turkana.[33] A Kenya Government report in 2021 estimated that the surface area of Lake Turkana had increased by 10% between 2010 and 2020. Kamoya Kimeu Kamoya Kimeu

3920-494: The region have resulted in a fortuitous layering of the ground cover over the basal rocks. These horizons can be dated more precisely by chemical analysis of the tuff . As this region is believed to have been an evolutionary nest of hominins , the dates are important for generating a diachronic array of fossils, both hominoid and nonhominoid—that is, both ape (includes hominins) and non-ape . Many thousands have been excavated. Terraces representing ancient shores are visible in

3990-416: The region more connected to and dependent on outside resources for subsistence. Traditional modes of subsistence like pastoralism and fishing are now supplemented by the cash-based economy. The Lake Turkana Wind Power consortium (LTWP) plans to provide 310 MW of power to Kenya's national electricity grid by tapping the unique wind conditions around the lake. The plan calls for 365 wind turbines , each with

4060-426: The region's ethnic groups into cross-border violent conflict reaching well into South Sudan, as starvation confronts all of them. The report offers a devastating look at a deeply flawed development process fuelled by the special interests of global finance and African governments. In the process, it identifies major overlooked or otherwise minimised risks, not the least of which is a U.S. Geological Survey estimation of

4130-460: The shore of an ancient and larger Lake Turkana, and where numerous human skeletons showing major traumatic injuries to the head, neck, ribs, knees and hands are argued to be evidence of inter-group conflict between nomadic hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago. With over 230 individuals found at the Koobi Fora site along the western shore, and scattered Homo sapiens skeletons with bone marks along

4200-439: The source of myrrh ... The ridge itself is an outcrop of mainly Pliocene/Pleistocene sediments. It is composed of claystones, siltstones, and sandstones that preserve numerous fossils of terrestrial mammals, including early hominin species. Presently, the ridge is being eroded into a badlands terrain by a series of ephemeral rivers that drain into the northeast portion of modern Lake Turkana. In 1968 Richard Leakey established

4270-553: The surface and in caches, which have dates of their own, but are seldom in association with hominins. No other candidates for their manufacture have been found, however. The tools are Olduwan and Acheulean . The Koobi Fora community has devised the following terminology to describe three local industries: The initial archaeology, experimental archaeology, and scientific analysis of the tools were performed by J. W. K. Harris, Nicholas Toth and Glynn Isaac. Harris and Braun report their line of investigation: Hominid technology represents

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4340-467: The team. In 1963, he joined the expeditions led by Richard Leakey , the son of Mary and Louis who followed in their footsteps as a paleoanthropologist. Kimeu accompanied him to the Omo River and Lake Rudolf (now Lake Turkana ) in 1967. He quickly became Richard Leakey's right-hand man, assuming control of field operations in Leakey's absence. He was known by colleagues as, Mr. Kamoya. In 1977, he became

4410-612: The upper portion of the Burgi Member, the KBS Member, and the Okote Member. The members reflect changing environments in the Turkana Basin, from lake and delta ones during Burgi Member times to rivers and floodplains in Okote Member times. The stratigraphy of the Koobi Fora Formation is one of the best studied and calibrated in East Africa, with publication of some extensive listings at various times. Controversial dating of

4480-714: The weakened crust. The oldest volcanic activity of the region occurred in the Nabwal Hills northeast of Turkana and is dated to 34.8 mya in the late Eocene . The visible tectonic features of the region result from extensive extrusions of basalt over the Turkana-Omo basin in the window 4.18–3.99 mya. These are called the Gombe Group Basalts. They are subdivided into the Mursi Basalts and the Gombi Basalts. The two latter basalts are identified as

4550-456: Was Anam a Cheper . Natives who live around Lake Turkana include the Turkana , Rendille , Gabbra , Daasanach , Hamar Koke, Karo, Nyagatom, Mursi , Surma , and Molo peoples. For the location of many of these peoples, refer to the dialect map in the article. The lake was originally named Lake Rudolf (in honour of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria ) by Count Sámuel Teleki de Szék and his second-in-command Lieutenant Ludwig Ritter Von Höhnel ,

4620-419: Was Kikamba . He also learned to speak English and Swahili , which proved invaluable in later life, when he translated for visiting scientists with whom he worked. Kimeu began to work in paleoanthropology as a laborer for Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey in the 1950s. During his job interview, Louis Leakey spoke with him in fluent Kikuyu , a similar language to Kikamba, which encouraged Kimeu to work with

4690-470: Was born in 1938 in Makueni County , a rural area of southern Kenya , to Philomena Mwelu and Kimeu Mbalu. His father was a goat herder, but at the time of Kamoya's birth, was away working on a railroad construction project. Young Kamoya Kimeu attended a Christian missionary school for six years, but left once he was old enough to herd the family goats in the field. The native language of his family

4760-488: Was found in Area 105. It is nicknamed the KBS site for Kay Behrensmeyer Site, after Kay Behrensmeyer , the researcher who first found stone tools there. This site is also the place where the first tuff was found, i.e., the KBS Tuff. Known as the location of Skull 1470, which was discovered by Bernard Ngeneo in 1972, reconstructed by Meave Leakey , and later reconstructed and named Homo habilis by Richard Leakey as possibly

4830-413: Was found. The fossils found here, including all the non-human ones, are assigned to the 1470 locality. Locating and referencing the hundreds of sites in the Koobi Fora region has been an ongoing process. The entire reservation was divided into somewhat over 100 numbered areas. When there were only a relatively few sites it sufficed to locate them with pinpricks on aerial photos and reference them by stating

4900-470: Was proposed in 1986 by V. P. Alexeev. In 1984, the Turkana Boy , a nearly complete skeleton of a Homo ergaster juvenile, was discovered by Kamoya Kimeu . More recently, Meave Leakey discovered a 3.5 million-year-old skull there, designated Kenyanthropus platyops ("the flat-faced man of Kenya"). Marta Mirazón Lahr discovered early evidence of human warfare at the site of Nataruk , located near

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