Media

Dr. Christine Omuombo based at the School of Physics and Earth Sciences recently participated in a summer field excavation at several prehistoric sites in the Ngobit and Gatarakwa region, west of Mt. Kenya. Since 2021, Dr. Omuombo, a lecturer of Geology at the Department of Geoscience and Environment has been involved with a team of researchers: Dr. Francis Kirera, Mercer University the Project’s Principal Investigator; Dr. Nasser Malit, Potsdam University in Newyork; Dr. Veronica Waweru, Yale University; Dr. Rahab Kinyanjui, National Museums of Kenya and Dr. Aryeh Grossman, Midwestern University. Work at these sites have yielded hundreds of artifacts including fossils belonging to potentially new species of antelopes; early human remains and various stone tools representing different assemblages. The sites were uncovered by a local archeological enthusiast Mr. Richard Kinyua.

The sites are spread out between the Mt. Kenya, the aberdares and the Laikipia plains. The current archeological sites are unique as a vast majority of archeological and paleoanthropological finds in Kenya have been found along the East African Rift Valley System. She said, “These sites present a geologically significant area which has been considered barren in terms of paleontological and archeological material. The sites present a new frontier to advance research in the study of human origins. It is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the fieldwork and initial descriptions of the geological context for the paleoanthropological finds.” Future research in this area will involve the geological mapping, detailed excavations and establishing the stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental context of the fossils and artifacts. The team has worked closely with communities and the local government.

“In the current field season, it was great to interact with the communities in this area as they were able to inform us of material that looked fossilized. After the community sensitization and the appearance of the research story in the local Tv station in their local language, they were very welcoming and were able to assist us to identify some new potential sites for future research”. The coverage of this research was in the local station Inooro Tv and the Standard newspaper that has a national coverage.

The team will continue excavating the sites in the coming years and hope to engage with the students from the Technical University of Kenya interested in this kind of research. Dr. Omuombo is a Research Affiliate at the National Museums of Kenya, Earth Science Department and a Research Associate at the Institute of Climate Change and Adaptation (ICCA) at the University of Nairobi. Reach out to Dr. Omuombo on the twitter handle @duniainamambo in case this area of research interests you.