The National Museums of Kenya Koobi Fora offices and camp, Sibiloi National Park.
Koobi Fora/ˈkuːbiˈfɔːrə/ refers primarily to a region around Koobi Fora Ridge, located on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana in the territory of the nomadic Gabbra people. According to the National Museums of Kenya, the name comes from the Gabbra language:
In the language of the Gabbra people who live near the site, the term Koobi Fora means a place of the commiphora and the source of myrrh...[1]
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The ridge itself is an outcrop of mainly Pliocene/Pleistocene sediments. It is composed of claystones, siltstones, and sandstones that preserve numerous fossils of terrestrial mammals, including early hominin species. Presently, the ridge is being eroded into a badlands terrain by a series of ephemeral rivers that drain into the northeast portion of modern Lake Turkana. In 1968 Richard Leakey established the Koobi Fora Base Camp on a large sandspit projecting into the lake near the ridge, which he called the Koobi Fora Spit.
Consequently, the government of Kenya in 1973 reserved the region as Sibiloi National Park, establishing a headquarters for the National Museums of Kenya on Koobi Fora Spit. The reserve is well-maintained and is well-guarded by friendly but armed park police. Protection of sites and especially of wildlife are of prime concern. Exploration and excavation continue under the auspices of the Koobi Fora Research Project (KFRP), which collaborates with a number of interested universities and individuals across the world.[2]
Formerly the term Koobi Fora has been used to mean one or two initial sites, or the sand spit. Today it can mean any or all points in Sibiloi National Park. The term East Turkana also has come into use with the larger meaning.[3]
^Koobi Fora: Historical Background, National Museums of Kenya, archived from the original on 20 July 2011, retrieved 30 April 2010
^For more information, refer to the KFRP Journal site currently being maintained by Louise Leakey. One notable collaboration is the Koobi Fora Field School Archived 28 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine conducted yearly by Rutgers University, which combines education and research.
^A nice map Archived 29 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine can be found at the Wesleyan site.
intended for Omo to new excavations to be conducted under his leadership at KoobiFora. Richard won, but chairman Leonard Carmichael told him he'd better find...
alternatively referred to as African Homo erectus. It was discovered in 1975 in KoobiFora, Kenya, right next to Lake Turkana, in a survey led by Richard Leakey...
Shungura east of the Omo. Probably the best known of the formations are the KoobiFora on the east side of Turkana and the Nachukui on the west. Short-term fluctuations...
finds were two partial skulls; KNM ER 3733 and KNM ER 3883, found at KoobiFora. Leakey and Walker assigned these skulls to H. erectus, noting that their...
Leakey, more were being unearthed in East Africa predominantly at the KoobiFora site, Kenya, and Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Archaic human fossils unearthed...
found at Pliocene sites in eastern Africa including Hadar, Laetoli and KoobiFora. The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary...
used as an item for exchange." Xiaochangliang Zhoukoudian Yuanmou County KoobiFora Richat Structure Sterkfontein Saint-Acheul Bose Basin The geographic distribution...
Leakey described the juvenile partial face KNM-ER 62000 discovered in KoobiFora, Kenya; noting it shares several similarities to KNM-ER 1470 and is smaller...
for listing here. Some of the better-known sites include the following: KoobiFora Dmanisi Lézignan-la-Cèbe Olduvai Gorge Xiaochangliang Afar Triangle Omo...
short-stay facilities for visitors; and the KoobiFora Museum. KoobiFora Spit with the facilities of the KoobiFora research Center are to the north, but are...
site 1.0 Mya. East African sites, such as Chesowanja near Lake Baringo, KoobiFora, and Olorgesailie in Kenya, show possible evidence that fire was controlled...
primarily by the skull KNM WT 17000 from KoobiFora, Lake Turkana, Kenya, as well as some jawbones from KoobiFora; the Shungura Formation, Ethiopia; and...
elephant. A large mostly complete male specimen of P. recki atavus from KoobiFora, Kenya, suggested to have been approximately 40 years old when it died...
features an abundance of large and soft quartz and quartzite pieces, whereas KoobiFora lacks spheroids and provides predominantly hard basalt lava rocks. Unlike...
Leakey MG, Spoor F, Dean MC, et al. (August 2012). "New fossils from KoobiFora in northern Kenya confirm taxonomic diversity in early Homo". Nature....
Formation on the west side of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, and in the KoobiFora Formation on the east side of Lake Turkana. Argon-argon dating has placed...
Homo erectus). The fossil was discovered by Richard Leakey in 1976 in KoobiFora, east of Lake Turkana (formerly lake Rudolf), Kenya. Most of the facial...
"unambiguous" evidence is a whole cranium, KNM-ER 3733 (a find identifier) from KoobiFora in Kenya, dated to 1.78 mya. An early skull fragment, KNM-ER 2598, dated...
facial elements were reported from the Shungura Formation, Ethiopia; KoobiFora and Chesowanja, Kenya; and Omo and Konso, Ethiopia. Among the notable...
of Kenya Overview Timeline of Kenya List of years in Kenya Pleistocene KoobiFora Hominins Olorgesailie Aechulean hand axe culture Kariandusi prehistoric...
as a co-leader of paleontological expeditions in northern Kenya. The KoobiFora research project has been the main program behind some of the most notable...
in Eurasia and then migrated back to Africa. Based on fossils from the KoobiFora Formation, east of Lake Turkana in Kenya, Spoor et al. (2007) argued that...
with its oldest remains being from the Odesa catacombs in Ukraine, and KoobiFora in Kenya, which are close in age, making the origin location of the genus...
crocodile, hippopotamus, and snakes. It also contains fossils in the KoobiFora deposits which are unique in the world. Lake Turkana National Parks consist...
Early post Independence Moi Era Recent history People Historic peoples KoobiFora Hominins Olorgesailie Aechulean hand axe culture Savanna Pastoral Neolithic...
of Kenya Overview Timeline of Kenya List of years in Kenya Pleistocene KoobiFora Hominins Olorgesailie Aechulean hand axe culture Kariandusi prehistoric...