Categories: News

Archaeologists Unearth 10,000-Year-Old Hunter-Gatherers Massacred in Kenya


Twenty-seven people were reportedly massacred 10,000 years ago in northern Kenya, according to archaeologists.

SEE ALSO: Bodies Found in Kenya Spark #StopKillingSomalis Hashtag

Keep Up With Face2Face Africa On Facebook!

The unfortunate group are believed to have been hunter-gatherers that included men, women, and children west of Lake Turkana.

Black volcanic rock obsidian

Archaeologists, who had been investigating the area of Naturuk for the last four years, believe the group was attacked by other hunter-gatherers in a single incident with wooden clubs and arrows or spears with sharpened obsidian, or black volcanic rock, at the tips (pictured).

The result was that the men, women, and children were either stabbed or clubbed to death and apparently left to die due to “some sort of conflict,” says Cambridge University Professor Robert Foley.

Hunter-gatherer bound?

Photographs taken by the researchers show a skeleton with a fractured skull (pictured top) and another victim with his or her arms possibly bound (pictured).

Lead researcher Marta Mirazon Lahr contends that the attack was likely over resources, “[The] massacre may have resulted from an attempt to seize resources…whose value was similar to those of later food-producing agricultural societies, among whom violent attacks on settlements became part of life,” even though other experts believe hunter-gatherers got in to less conflicts since their lifestyle meant they could relocate.

SEE ALSO: Egypt Says It’s ’90 Percent’ Sure King Tut’s Tomb Has Hidden Chambers

Abena Agyeman-Fisher

Abena Agyeman-Fisher is the Editor-in-Chief of Face2Face Africa. Most recently, she worked for Interactive One as the Senior Editor of NewsOne, she worked for AOL as the News Programming Manager of Black Voices, which later became HuffPo Black Voices, and for the New York Times Company as an Associate Health Editor. Abena, a Spelman College graduate, has been published in Al Jazeera, the Daily Beast, New Jersey’s The Star-Ledger, the Grio, BlackVoices, West Orange Patch, About.com, the Source, Vibe, Vibe Vixen, Jane, and Upscale Magazines. She has interviewed top celebrities, icons, and politicians, such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett, Civil Rights activist and diplomat Andrew Young, comedian Bill Cosby, Grammy Award-winning singer Jill Scott, actress and singer Queen Latifah, Olympic Gold winner Cullen Jones, international supermodel Alek Wek, and five-division world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather. Most recently, she served as the First Lady’s press reporter during President Barack Obama’s U.S.-Africa Summit, Young African Leaders Institute event, and the 2013 presidential trip to Senegal, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Tanzania. Abena is also a 2015 International Women's Media Foundation Africa Great Lakes Fellow, where she reported on women candidates and Chinese sweatshops in Tanzania for CNN and Refinery29.

Recent Posts

The story behind Alicia Keys’ Broadway musical Hell’s Kitchen nominated for 13 Tonys

Alicia Keys has reached a new milestone with her musical "Hell's Kitchen" as it has…

11 mins ago

Simone Biles admits she blacked out at her wedding party

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles decided to commemorate her first wedding anniversary to NFL star…

3 hours ago

‘God jammed the gun’ – Man arrested after attempting to shoot pastor during service livestream

Authorities in Pennsylvania have arrested and charged a 26-year-old man who was seen allegedly attempting…

3 hours ago

British darts player Deta Hedman explains why she declined to play against transgender opponent

British female darts player Deta Hedman withdrew from the Denmark Open over the weekend after…

3 hours ago

New York-based Ghanaian couple accused of fatally beating 5-year-old son sentenced

A New York-based Ghanaian couple accused of fatally beating their 5-year-old son was on May…

3 hours ago

Former Miss Nevada to finally meet her biological mom 44 years after being abandoned in airport

Former beauty queen Elizabeth Hunterton, who was abandoned in an airport as a newborn in…

3 hours ago

9-year-old’s decision to give his only dollar to tycoon he assumed was homeless earns him free shopping spree

It was an act of goodwill with no intended expectation in mind. Donating his only…

16 hours ago

Meet Goldfields’ Catherine Kuupol, who is now the first woman general manager in Ghana’s mining history

Get to know Ms. Catherine Kuupol, a mineral engineer who has provided metallurgical technical services…

17 hours ago

Haitian-American teen gets accepted into 17 colleges with over $1 million in scholarships

Yves-Ann Comeau, 18, is gaining attention for her recent accomplishment of being accepted into 17…

20 hours ago

Solicitor says he was pinned down by court guards in ‘George Floyd manner’: ‘I was just trying to do my job’

Lawyers say they are considering a boycott of a court following an incident where up…

21 hours ago

Larry Demeritte becomes first Caribbean trainer at Kentucky Derby despite cancer battle

Larry Demeritte is the first Caribbean trainer to participate in the Kentucky Derby and the…

22 hours ago

Beyoncé’s name is regarded as a noun in French dictionary …here is why

She is celebrated globally for her groundbreaking work across the music and movie industry. But,…

1 day ago

Aspiring medical doctor left brain-dead after allegedly being pushed into lake by friend

The family of an aspiring medical doctor is seeking justice after he was left brain-dead…

1 day ago

Opal Lee awarded nation’s highest civilian honor ahead of receiving her 8th honorary degree

Once more, popular 97-year-old activist Opal Lee has received honor; this time, the President of…

1 day ago

Career shoplifter gets 30 years after using soft-sided cooler to steal $20k worth of designer sunglasses

A Florida woman described as a career shoplifter was handed a 30-year prison sentence after…

1 day ago