Welcome to the field school where we study more than just rocks ;) Are you wondering what engineering students do here at TBI? If so, this is the post for you! I’m writing to give you a little insight on the work we do. But first, let me introduce myself and my peer: My name [...]
Jambo! The Summer 2023 Field Schools are underway!! This year, we have both an Origins Field School and a Global Innovation Field School, being led by Dr. Nicholas Taylor and Acacia Leakey respectively, with Teaching Assistant Medina Lubisia. We arrived in Turkana earlier today, having spent an amazing few days at Mpala Research Center and [...]
Hello! My name is Owich and I am an anthropology graduate from the University of Nairobi. We began our second week of geology with a morning classroom session with Dr. Gathogo taking us through the short Cretaceous window, and reconstruction of the Turkana basin geography and particularly the Cenozoic (Age of mammals) rich-sediments. In summary, [...]
Hello, my name is Amelia and I am currently majoring in Anthropology through SUNY Albany in New York. This week we dove into our geology module! We started off by learning the basics of using both the Brunton compass, along with more modern technology by using a handheld GPS system linked to satellites for navigation. [...]
Pan of the Miocene Dead Elephant Valley in Buluk, Kenya The last stop on the Turkana Miocene Project field tour was Buluk, Kenya, which has for many years been headed by Ellen Miller. Located east of Lake Turkana, Buluk is an early Miocene site that is rife with…. everything! It is a [...]
We are very sad to share with you the news that Kamoya Kimeu passed away earlier this week after a short spell in hospital with kidney complications. We send our deepest condolences and thoughts to all of his family. Our subsequent appeal to friends and well-wishers to help the family with medical and funeral expenses, [...]
In December 2021, the West Turkana Archaeological Project (WTAP) in partnership with the Turkana Basin Institute, the National Museums of Kenya, and with support from the French government opened an exhibition in Nairobi to showcase the earliest stone tools in the world, found in Lomekwi, Turkana County in 2013. In June 2022 the exhibition moved [...]
Mountains south of Lokichar. These rocks form the core of a Neoproterozoic island arc. Turkana and the East African Rift. The ‘cradle of humanity’. But what is this cradle actually made of? And why is The Rift where it is anyway? The Rift is such an important feature for nurturing primates and hominids [...]
Paleontologist and National Geographic Explorer Isaiah Nengo, associate Director of the Turkana Basin Institute and Director for Research and Science at the Turkana Basin Institute passed away on 23 January at the age of 60. He was passionately dedicated to the study of Miocene hominids in Turkana, Kenya and his fieldwork led to the [...]
2021 was an exciting year for sustainability at TBI. We made great strides towards improving our environmental sustainability by increasing investments in clean energy. Over all, we installed over 50 kWp of solar panels, which can generate a cumulative 330 kW of power daily and we installed over 100 kWh of battery storage. This [...]
James Alkerech was a herder who spent most of his time taking care of his father’s livestock. Life in Fora, located in the remote area of Ileret Ward, has livestock keeping as the primary economic activity. This area is also characterized by frequent conflict over grazing land. In 2018, after a particularly fierce exchange, [...]
Martin Kirinya and Emmanuel Aipa showcase fossils in the TBI booth at the Tobong'u Lore Festival 2021 The Tobong’u Lore cultural festival is an annual event hosted by the Turkana County Government in order to promote peace, indigenous culture and tourism within the region. This brings together local and international groups lending [...]
Preparators from the National Museums of Kenya at the Ileret research facility of the Turkana Basin Institute, starting manual preparation and supplementing the field consolidation (chemical hardening) of Loxodonta adaurora cranium KNM-ER 63642. From left to right: Cliff Onyango, Robert Moru and Christopher Kiarie. Image credit: Steve Jabo, Smithsonian Institution A remarkably well-preserved [...]
This Week, the students have been introduced to the story of being and becoming human. The scientific story of human evolution. Humans have always been curious to identify who they really are which poses questions like; how and why are we different from other mammals? What made us develop distinct traits like bipedality and bigger [...]
As livelihood decisions are strategic and dynamic, TBI's involvement in this regard has led to the realization of increased opportunities for access to, and control over, use of local resources. It has also led to capacity strengthening and to members of the community making use of those opportunities for subsistence and/or income generating purposes. [...]
The last few weeks have been busy and exciting for the crew members. What a day it was with the discovery of three hominin specimens- they were all found within hours of discovering the first one! Crew celebrates one of the hominid finds on a day three hominid specimens were discovered Abdub, who discovered [...]