MISSION STATEMENT

The continued research in the Turkana Basin will further the global understanding of human origins and the context in which it occurred through the recovery and investigation of new fossil material from deposits in northern Kenya.
 

THE KOOBI FORA REGION has, over the last 35 years of exploration, produced a wealth of paleontological, geological and archaeological data. Research in the area has revealed a complex history of volcanism, tectonics and sedimentary cycles preserving fluvial and lake phases of the basin. Some 16,000 fossil specimens have been collected from the Turkana basin, almost 10,000 from the Koobi Fora Region. This includes an impressive 350 hominid specimens from the basin and this has contributed significantly to our present understanding of human origins and hominid diversity through time. Hominid behaviour, including tool use, has been interpreted from the archaeological remains. The huge collection of fossil mammals provides an opportunity to trace the evolution of numerous mammalian lineages back in time.


THE FUTURE OF RESEARCH IN THE TURKANA BASIN

Over the next five to ten years, field work in the Koobi Fora region is likely to produce significant new finds and build upon three decades of previous work. A great deal has been learned so far: the long-term research at Koobi Fora has led to hundreds of publications, including five monographs. Many scientists who have spent much of their careers investigating the strata and faunal records from Koobi Fora are still involved in this research and will impart their knowledge to the next generation of scientists through fieldwork and training.  New advances in technology are making research in paleontology and archaeology more efficient and exact. For example, a new technique of analyzing oxygen and carbon isotopes in fossils can provide information about the diet of extinct herbivores and the environments in which they lived. Computers can handle larger, more complex data sets (including images), and satellite technology has dramatically improved collection techniques. Earlier records can now be collated using this technology; this facilitates the work in the field and in the analysis of the data.

New sites are being discovered all the time, and the number of students and professionals in this field has greatly increased. Fossils continue to erode from the exposures and require collection to reveal more clues about the past.


It is the mission of the KFRP to ensure that this vast potential is realized.