Human Origins Program Field Projects in Kenya
Research by the Human Origins Program is ongoing at several
localities in Kenya including Lainyamok and Olorgesailie, southwest of
the capital Nairobi.
Lainyamok, Kenya
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The East African Rift Valley is a huge scar
in the terrain of eastern Africa caused by the exertion of massive tectonic
forces over millions of years. Quite literally, the ground underneath
the Rift Valley is being pulled apart, opening the valley, and exposing
sediments laid down many years ago.
Located in the Rift Valley, Lainyamok (which literally means
"Place of Thieves") is described by Dr. Rick Potts
as "the hottest, most desolate place I know." Today, dust devils
swirl over terrain that only half a million years ago was an
ancient lake, which mysteriously dried-up around 400,000 years
ago. Calcium carbonate crystals found at the site attest to
an extreme rate of evaporation, and chemical analysis of the
ancient lake bed shows that just prior to its death, the lake
was more saline (salty) and alkaline (opposite of acidic) than
any lake in eastern Africa, before or since. A human thigh bone,
several molars and various stone tools, dating to around 350,000
years ago, signal the presence of early humans at the site around
the time of the drying of the lake.
What impact could such a drastic and rapid environmental change have
on the community of early humans in the lake region?
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| The site of Lainyamok, Kenya |
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| A "Dust Devil" over the arid terrain
of Lainyamok |
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