Tracing the origin of man Part 1

Traditional housing structures along Lake Turkana, Loiyangalani belonging to the El Molo (also known as Elmolo, Dehes, Fura-Pawa and Ldes) that is the smallest ethnic group in Kenya. The El Molo rely on the lake for their existence, living on a diet mainly of fish and occasionally crocodile, turtle and other wildlife. (Photo: Thorn Mulli)

On November 8, 2012, I was honoured to attend an exceptional dinner event at the Nairobi National Museum dubbed ‘Dinner with the Turkana Boy’. The dinner was a celebration of the first time doors to the vault casing Kimoya Kimeu’s 1984 precious fossil find were opened to the public.

For those not acquainted, Kamoya Kimeu is one of the world’s most successful fossil hunter credited with discovering a small skull fragment as he was strolling in Nariokotome village on the western side of Lake Turkana that later, after a number of excavations and studies were done yielded a nearly complete skeleton believed to be that of Homo erectus young boy dating back to more than 1.5 million years ago.