Ronika Power

Inter-group violence among early Holocene hunter-gatherers of West Turkana, Kenya

The nature of inter-group relations among prehistoric hunter-gatherers remains disputed, with arguments in favour and against the existence of warfare before the development of sedentary societies. Here we report on a case of inter-group violence towards a group of hunter-gatherers from Nataruk, west of Lake Turkana, which during the late Pleistocene/early Holocene period extended about 30 km beyond its present-day shore. Ten of the twelve articulated skeletons found at Nataruk show evidence of having died violently at the edge of a lagoon, into which some of the bodies fell. The remains from Nataruk are unique, preserved by the particular conditions of the lagoon with no evidence of deliberate burial. They offer a rare glimpse into the life and death of past foraging people, and evidence that warfare was part of the repertoire of inter-group relations among prehistoric hunter-gatherers.

From refuse to rebirth: repositioning the pot burial in the Egyptian archaeological record

Abstract The interment of bodies in ceramic vessels, or ‘pot burial’, was a widespread practice across the ancient world. Commonly associated with poverty, and with child and infant burials, the reuse of domestic vessels for burial has been taken to indicate that low value was assigned to the containers and their contents. New analysis urges a more holistic and culturally situated understanding. Contradictory evidence reveals that this burial practice was also used for adults and is represented in high-status tombs. Far from being recycled ‘rubbish’, the ceramic containers may have reflected symbolic associations between pots, wombs and eggs, facilitating rebirth and transition into the afterlife.

Reply to Stojanowski et al.

Turkana Basin Institute, PO box 24467-00502, Nairobi, Kenya. National Museums of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta House, PO box 152-30500, Lodwar, Kenya. Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueologia, UNED, c/ Paseo Senda del Rey, 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain. National Museums of Kenya, PO box 40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, PO box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya. Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Building 142, Mills Road, Acton, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia.