The China-Kenya Paleolithic Archaeological Project Selected as 2023 New Archaeological Discoveries Abroad

The Lake Bogoria Site, first excavated in 2019, is located in Marigat Town of Baringo County, the Republic of Kenya, Africa, which is situated in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, 15 kilometers southeast to Lake Bogoria.

The year of 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative and coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kenya. Under the impetus of the Belt and Road Initiative and the mechanism of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the Henan Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage has organized and implemented the China-Kenya Joint Paleolithic Archaeological Project. With the strong support of China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, the Project has been ongoing for four years.

Schematic Map of the Geographic Location of the Lake Bogoria Site

On September 27, 2023, a joint archaeological team composed of the staff from Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, Luoyang Municipal Cultural Relics and Archaeological Research Institute, and the National Museums of Kenya arrived at the Lake Bogoria Site to commence the archaeological survey and excavation work for the year. Due to the significant achievements of that archaeological work, the Lake Bogoria Site was selected as one of the “New Archaeological Discoveries Abroad in 2023” at the CASS Archaeological Forum held in Beijing on January 30, 2024, which was organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and co-hosted by the CASS Institute of Archaeology and the ACTA Archaeologica Sinica Magazine.

Low-altitude aerial image of the Lake Bogoria Site

In 2023, the joint archaeological team completed the excavation work at Locations 2 and 3 of the Bogoria Lake Site. It strictly adhered to the Specification of Drilling Record in Field Archaeology with each 5-centimeter layer serving as an operational unit, and various equipment and recording methods such as the RTK, aerial drones, GIS systems, and multi-view three-dimensional modeling were all utilized in this archaeological excavation. Within a 10-square-kilometer radius, the team discovered over 2,000 stone artifacts in 22 locations, including chopping tools, hand axes, and hand picks from the early Paleolithic Period; Levallois technique-produced cores, points, and blades from the middle Paleolithic Period; and fine blades, fine cores, scrapers, and back-knapped knives from the late Paleolithic Period.

At Location 2, the archaeological team laid out 35 test pits of 1m x 1m each in size, with an excavation depth of approximately 50 centimeters. A total of 407 stone artifacts were unearthed, primarily made of andesite and basalt, with a small amount of flint and obsidian. The types of artifacts were mainly flakes and debris smaller than 2 centimeters in size, with a small number of cores and Levallois technique-produced sharp devices. Notably, the proportion of the debris reached up to 47%. The stone artifacts were mainly sourced from volcanic ash layers. Combined with the excavation in 2019, it can be determined that this Location served as a small-scale tool manufacturing area with artifacts buried in situ.

Excavation site at Location 2

In 2019, the Chinese-Kenyan joint archaeological team discovered Location 3 of the Lake Bogoria Site, in which due to rain erosion, a large number of stone artifacts were exposed on the surface. In 2023, the team set out 52 test pits with 1m x 1m each in size at this location, reaching a maximum excavation depth of 2.8 meters, and uncovered over 1,300 stone artifacts. The stratigraphy at this location is approximately 6 meters thick, divided into seven layers. Layer 5 is the main culture-related layer. Due to rain erosion, Layers 1 to 3 have been almost completely eroded away, with only partial remnants remained in some areas. The vast majority of the stone artifacts were unearthed from Layer 5, with most raw materials being andesite and basalt, and only a small amount of flint.

Stone artifacts and animal fossils unearthed from the stratigraphy at Location 3

The stone artifacts at Location 3 are mainly Levallois technique-produced cores, flakes, and debris from the pre-core preparation process, and a chopping tool was also found by the team. Products of the Levallois technique dominate the lithic industry types at this location, indicating that the location dates to the middle Paleolithic Period. The discovery of debris in the stratigraphy also shows that the stone artifacts were originally buried in situ, rather than being transported to this location by external forces such as water flow.

Stone artifacts discovered at the Lake Bogoria Site in 2023 (Early, middle, and late Paleolithic Periods)

Group Photo of the 2023 China-Kenya Paleolithic Archaeological Project Team

The Levallois technique was a hallmark of stone tool manufacturing techniques during the middle Paleolithic Period and was a milestone invention in human’s evolutionary history. The middle Paleolithic Period in Africa roughly began around 300,000 years ago and concluded about 50,000 years ago. The period from 300,000 to 200,000 years ago was a crucial time for the emergence of modern humans. In Africa, the Levallois technique may be closely related to the origin of modern humans. The Lake Bogoria Site is approximately 6 kilometers away from the earliest-known Kapthurin Formation Sites with distinct Levallois technique features. The artifacts unearthed at Location 3 provide us crucial stratigraphic information and definitive Levallois technique characteristics, contributing significantly to the understanding of the origin of the Levallois technique. The archaeological work for four years has preliminarily demonstrated that rich Paleolithic cultural remains are spread in the Baringo area of the Great Rift Valley, which are of great significance, especially in exploring the leading international academic topic of the origin of modern humans.