• All the skeletons were accompanied by some personal adornments that included stones, ostrich eggshell beads, rare ivory, carnivore-tooth, and rodent-tooth items.
• Such a society has since collapsed and the Human Development Index (HDI) ranks Kenya as one of the most unequal societies in the world.
Image: COURTESY
A groundbreaking analysis of the oldest graves in Kenya suggests the rich and the poor were treated equally in death, a rarity today.
The graves, dating back 5,000 years, reveal an egalitarian society that honoured their dead equally without any of the trappings of social stratification. These are the earliest known cemeteries in Kenya and were first discovered in 2018 around Lake Turkana.
At least 49 more skeletons were unearthed last year and assessed further to understand how the herders created such a society, which has since collapsed.
The skeletons were excavated at Lothagam North, Lothagam West, Manemanya, and Kalokol pillar sites, on the western side of Lake Turkana.
"Among the densely clustered burials of Lothagam North, there are no patterns of differentiation by age, sex, or material wealth," says the study, published in the Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Journal.
It was authored by seven researchers from the Turkana Basin Institute and from universities in the USA, Canada and South Africa.
"[The] Skeletons now constitute one of the largest archaeologically derived collections of human remains from Eastern Africa, providing evidence relevant to population structure, behaviour, health, diet and disease, among early herders," the researchers say.
All the skeletons were accompanied by some personal adornments that included stones, ostrich eggshell beads, rare ivory, carnivore-tooth, and rodent-tooth items. The researchers said these items were present in all graves, confirming that interment with adornment was the norm.
"Patterns of bead distribution, combined with the presence of men, women, and children within the central platform, suggest minimal social stratification among people buried there," said Elisabeth A. Hildebrand of the Turkana Basin Institute.
Such a society has since collapsed and the Human Development Index (HDI) ranks Kenya as one of the most unequal societies in the world.
It is also likely the ancient herders buried their dead immediately. The skeletons found all tended to be flexed on one side, with arms and legs tightly contracted toward the torso and hands in front of the face.
"Many individuals were highly flexed to a degree that would have been unnatural in life, suggesting bodies may have been bound, wrapped, or shrouded in this position prior to the onset of rigour mortis," they say.
None of the remains showed evidence of burning or cremation. It is also likely people led a long healthy life into adulthood. The researchers said the teeth of the skeletons are in good shape, with slight wear and low rates of caries, but a high prevalence of dental calculus (tartar).
"A diet low in carbohydrates seems to have been more influential in deterring carious lesions," the study says.
The researchers said the low rates of dental caries and infectious disease may indicate similar diet and health patterns between ancient and contemporary mobile pastoralists in eastern Africa.