There are few words that can truly describe the forbidding, untouched splendor of the desert in North Western Kenya. A land which looks so unyielding and barren today, yet millions of years ago was the birthplace of mankind.
In 1984 a team of archaeologists unearthed the most complete fossilized Homo Erectus skeleton ever found. This was dated to about 1.5 million years ago and gives Turkana its nickname, “The Cradle of Mankind”. The skeleton was dubbed “Turkana Boy” and the original can be found at The National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi.
The area is also home to the world’s largest permanent desert lake, Lake Turkana.
But despite all of this, Turkana County remains one of the poorest and most arid areas in Kenya today.
On this episode of Talk Africa, we take a walk through Turkana and meet the local people who call the area their home today. We also look at some developments and ask, does the significance living in the cradle of mankind actually filter down to the local peoples?
