FIVE DECADES OF PALEONTOLOGICAL EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY IN THE TURKANA BASIN

The past five decades of multidisciplinary research in the Turkana Basin has arguably contributed more significantly to our understanding of human evolution than any where else in the world. Through the dedicated efforts of numerous scientists and their students, many ground breaking discoveries have been made over the years in cross cutting disciplines.

The initial exploratory forays into this rugged landscape of northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia began in 1968 with a team of fossil hunters led by Richard Leakey and Kamoya Kimeu, who turned up a handful of hominin fossils and stone tools. These were enough to convince them that this region held the potential to reveal in detail much of the basin history that would contribute to our understanding of human evolution. Over the following decades, diverse teams of investigators worked to piece together the paleoenvironmental, archaeological and paleontological records of the Turkana Basin.

The exploration of the fossiliferous sediments in the basin led to the recovery more than 30000 specimens, with more than 750 examples of hominoids. The fossil primates are well represented by over 30 taxa as well as an extensive archeological record, footprints, invertebrate and plant fossils. This collection provides context and a backdrop to the human evolutionary record. The interpretation of the paleoenvironments of the Turkana Basin through detailed geological investigations included geochronology, and the geochemistry and detailed investigation of the volcanics, fluvial and lacustrine sediments.

The stage is set for a new generation of investigators to build on the results of the past fifty years of work in the region, and to use new techniques to further explore the wealth of information that the Turkana Basin has to offer. Finally a brief look at some of the institutions and research efforts that will undoubtedly shape the future decades of investigation at Lake Turkana.