LODWAR, Kenya — Among the most famous discoveries that put Kenya on the map is Turkana Boy, which has been dated as having lived about 1.6 million years ago.
The boy, who was 9 to 12 years old and about 5 feet, 3 inches tall, is one of the few nearly complete skeletons of a human-related fossil ever found.
Often referred to as “The Cradle of Mankind”, Kenya’s Lake Turkana region has one of the longest living histories on earth.
Lake Turkana, a massive inland sea and the largest desert lake in the world, covers 2,473 square miles and is more than 155 miles long — longer than the Kenyan coast. Known as the Jade Sea because of the almost incandescent color of its waters, it lies at the heart of Sibiloi National Park, a place of stark beauty and prehistoric petrified forests.
Kenya is endowed with the richest pre-historic fossil heritage dating back more than 100 million years.
The National Museums of Kenya have the world’s largest collection of human pre-history, a record spanning more than 27 million years.
Groups can also find records of fauna and plant species related to the evolution theory e.g. elephants, crocodiles- displayed in-situ at the Cradle of Mankind site.
In addition to fossil records, the existence of a long record of technological evolution with tools as old as 2.3 million years old also exists. The study of human evolution continues through the efforts of researchers at the National Museums of Kenya.
The National Museums of Kenya maintain a museum and Koobi Fora, a research base, at Sibiloi National Park. Most discoveries can be viewed at the museum headquarters in Nairobi.
Each year in mid-May, the Lake Turkana Cultural Festival features unique performances from 10 communities in the Lake Turkana region. This event celebrates and preserves the colourful cultures of the El Molo, Samburu, Gabbra, Rendile, Watta, Dasannach, Pokot and Turkana tribes.
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