title: Inter-group violence among early Holocene hunter-gatherers of West Turkana, Kenya.
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.
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.|Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mirazón Lahr
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Power
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mounier
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Copsey
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Crivellaro
authors.affiliation: National Museums of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta House, PO Box 152-30500, Lodwar, Kenya.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Edung
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueologia, UNED, c/ Paseo Senda del Rey, 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Maillo Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kiarie
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leakey
authors.affiliation: National Museums of Kenya, PO Box 40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mbua
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, PO Box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muigai
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Mukhongo
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van Baelen
authors.affiliation: Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Building 142, Mills Road, Acton, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.
authors.forename: J-L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Schwenninger
authors.affiliation: Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Building 142, Mills Road, Acton, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia.|Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grün
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600025, India.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Achyuthan
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilshaw
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK.|Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Foley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001106:Archaeology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D012863:Skeleton; D012886:Skull / Q000293:injuries; D014754:Violence / Q000266:history*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000266:history*