Inter-group violence among early Holocene hunter-gatherers of West Turkana, Kenya

Lahr, M.M.; Rivera, F.; Power, R.K.; Foley, R.A.; Mounier, A.; Copsey, B.; Crivellaro, F.; Edung, J.E.; Fernandez, J.M.; Kiarie, C.; Lawrence, J.; Leakey, A.; Mbua, E.; Miller, Holly; Muigai, A.; Mukhongo, D.; Van Baelen, A.; Wood, R.; Schwenninger, J-L.; Grun, R.; Achyuthan, H.; Wilshaw, A.

Abstract

The nature of inter-group relations among prehistoric hunter-gatherers remains disputed, with arguments in favour and against the existence of warfare before the development of sedentary societies. Here we report on a case of inter-group violence towards a group of hunter-gatherers from Nataruk, west of Lake Turkana, which during the late Pleistocene/early Holocene period extended about 30 km beyond its present-day shore. Ten of the twelve articulated skeletons found at Nataruk show evidence of having died violently at the edge of a lagoon, into which some of the bodies fell. The remains from Nataruk are unique, preserved by the particular conditions of the lagoon with no evidence of deliberate burial. They offer a rare glimpse into the life and death of past foraging people, and evidence that warfare was part of the repertoire of inter-group relations among prehistoric hunter-gatherers.

Citation

Lahr, M., Rivera, F., Power, R., Foley, R., Mounier, A., Copsey, B., …Wilshaw, A. (2016). Inter-group violence among early Holocene hunter-gatherers of West Turkana, Kenya. Nature, 529, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16477

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 31, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Nov 23, 2015
• Publication Date: Jan 20, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jul 24, 2018
• Journal: Nature
• Print ISSN: 0028-0836
• Electronic ISSN: 1476-4687
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 529
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16477
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/772105
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature16477