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Nataruk in Turkana County, Kenya, is the site of an archaeological investigation which uncovered the remains of 27 people.[1][2] It dates between 9,500 and 10,500 BP (7,550–8,550 BC).[3] The remains have garnered wide media attention for possible bioarchaeological evidence of interpersonal violence, i.e. prehistoric warfare.

According to the Nature article published by Dr. Mirazón Lahr and colleagues, the skeletons present the earliest evidence for intergroup violence among hunting-foraging populations, which they interpret as a "massacre":[2] the remains of adults and six children show signs of a violent end, having been clubbed or stabbed and left to die without burial.[1][4] Two of the male remains had stone projectile tips lodged in the skull and thorax.[4]

However, a 'Brief Communication Arising' published in Nature by Christopher Stojanowski and colleagues calls into question much of the alleged evidence of a "massacre".[5] Their critique centers on two main points. First, these authors suggest that much of the evidence of peri-mortem trauma identified by Mirazón Lahr is equally - if not more - likely to have occurred after deposition; that is, after the skeletons were buried, intentionally or otherwise. Second, Stojanowski disagrees over the interpretation of the site formation processes. Where Mirazón Lahr sees little evidence for intentional burial at the site, Stojanowski argues that the bodies at Nataruk are mostly articulated, spatially organized, non-commingled, and preserve limited variation in body positioning, all of which are inconsistent with skeletons from well-documented massacre sites.[5][6]2°42′24″N 36°08′31″E / 2.70661°N 36.14191°E / 2.70661; 36.14191

It is unclear exactly what happened at the site, but Mirazón Lahr stands by her interpretation that it was a massacre, the result of an attack by another group of hunter-gatherers.[1][7] They stated it is "the earliest scientifically-dated historical evidence of human conflict.",[4] although Jebel Sahaba, another prehistoric cemetery site, has been dated between 13,400 and 18,600 BP and predates Nataruk by several millennia.[8] As of 2021 the earliest documented evidence of interpersonal violence between H. sapiens appears to be the partial remains of a skeleton in Wadi Kubbaniya from 19,000-18,000BP.[9]

The excavation at Nataruk, led by Dr. Marta Mirazón Lahr as part of the IN-AFRICA Project,[10] began in 2012.[1]

Turkana in the late Pleistocene–early Holocene

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10,000 years ago, Turkana was lush and fertile; Lake Turkana was much larger than it is today. Many sites from this time period have been found along the ancient shore of the lake. Nataruk is one of these sites, a temporary camp where a band of hunter-gatherers went to fish and hunt. The area has produced thousands of animal fossils: elephants, hippos, rhinos, giraffe, zebras, warthogs, buffaloes, antelopes, gazelles, primates, hyraxes, snakes, turtles, crocodiles and fish, as well as lions, hyaenas and wild dogs. The people of southwest Turkana at this time were hunters, gatherers, and fishers. Evidence for hunting and butchering animals has been found, along with hundreds of barbed bone harpoons used for fishing. Pottery has also been found from this time period.[citation needed]

The discoveries at Nataruk

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Main article: Prehistoric warfare

In 2012, fragments of human bones were found on the surface at Nataruk, mixed with gravel, an area that is barren desert today. The survey of the site showed that Nataruk was exceptional not only in the number of exposed remains, but also in their distribution throughout a large area of ~200 x 100 m, forming clusters along a sandy ridge and on two mounts. By the time the excavations were completed, archaeologists had found the remains of 27 people—6 young children, 1 teenager and 20 adults. Twelve of the skeletons—7 men and 5 women—were found as they had died, unburied until they were covered by the shallow water of the lagoon.

Ten of these 12 skeletons show lesions caused by violence—in the head, neck, ribs, hands, and knees, all the parts of the skeleton most commonly involved in cases of violence. These include 2 cases of projectiles in direct association with the remains, one still embedded on the side of the skull, 2 cases of sharp-force trauma to the neck, 7 cases of blunt and/or sharp-force trauma to the head, 2 cases of blunt-force trauma to the knees and 1 to the ribs, and 2 cases of fractures to the hands, possibly caused while parrying a blow.

The lesions were caused by at least 3 types of weapons: projectiles (stone-tipped as well as sharpened arrows), by a weapon similar to a club, and by another close-proximity weapon, possibly a club or wooden handle with hafted sharp stone blades that caused deep cuts. Two individuals were found to have no lesions in the preserved parts of the skeleton, but the position of their hands suggests they may have been bound, including a young woman who was heavily pregnant at the time.

The site of Nataruk and the human remains it preserved were dated three by different methods: radiocarbon, carried out by Rachel Wood at the Australian National University and Beta Analytic Inc., optically stimulated luminescence carried out by Jean-Luc Schwenninger at the University of Oxford, and Uranium-series by Rainer Grün, at Griffiths University, showing them to be between 10,500 and 9,500 years ago.

The demographic profile of the people found at Nataruk

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Of the 27 individuals discovered at Nataruk, 4 (KNM-WT 71261, KNM-WT 71262, KNM-WT 71268, KNM-WT 71277) were the remains of adults, too fragmentary to estimate their age and sex accurately. The age and sex of the remaining adults, and age of the children are:

Children Teenagers Young women
(20–30 yrs) 		Young men
(20–30 yrs)

Middle Aged
Older women (30–45 yrs)

Middle Aged
Older men (30–45 yrs)

Older women
(45+ yrs) 		Older men
(45+ yrs)

WT 71272 (< 3 yrs)

WT 71269 (3–4 yrs)

WT 71271 (4–5 yrs)

WT 71273 (5–6 yrs)

WT 71270 (< 6 yrs)

WT 71252 (12–15 yrs)

WT 71255

WT 71256

WT 71265

WT 71253

WT 71254

WT 71254

WT 71266

WT 71275

WT 71258

WT 71260

WT 71263

WT 71264

WT 71276

WT 71259

WT 71251

Nataruk and the prehistory of warfare

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Warfare, or inter-group conflict, is today associated with one group of people wanting the territory, resources, or power held by another. Prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies were not sedentary and did not own land or have significant possessions, and their small numbers constrained the development of social hierarchies. Therefore, many scholars have argued that warfare only emerged after sedentism, farming, and more complex political systems arose,[11] although this view has been disputed by other scientists.[12] If Mirazón Lahr and colleagues' interpretations are correct, the findings at Nataruk suggest that inter-group conflict has a long history and was part of the life of hunter-gatherers.

Mirazón Lahr argues that this challenges our views of what are the causes of conflict; while it is possible that human prehistoric societies simply responded antagonistically to chance encounters with other groups, she believes that the event preserved at Nataruk was a deliberate attack by one group of hunter-gatherers on another. The evidence from Nataruk shows that the attacking party was carrying weapons that would not normally be carried while hunting and fishing. The lesions show that clubs of at least two sizes were used, indicating that more than one of the attackers were carrying them. The attack combined distance (arrows) and close-proximity (melee) weaponry (clubs, stone knives), suggesting premeditation and planning. Also, there are other examples, though isolated, of violent trauma in the early Holocene archaeological record of Southwest Turkana; one, discovered in the 1970s by archaeologist Larry Robbins, was found ~20 km north of Nataruk at the site of Lothagam; the other two were also discovered by the IN-AFRICA Project at a site close to Nataruk named Kalakoel 4. All three cases involved projectiles, one of the hallmarks of inter-group conflict. Finally, two of the projectiles found embedded in the human skeletons at Nataruk and in 2 of the other 3 cases of violent trauma in Southwest Turkana were made of obsidian, a rare stone in this area, suggesting that the attackers came from a different place. This shows that such attacks happened multiple times in at least three different locations within a relatively small area.

Regarding the motive for the attack, the hunter-gatherers that lived around Nataruk may have had valuable resources that were worth fighting for—water, game and its meat, fish, nuts, or indeed women and children, suggesting that two of the conditions associated with warfare among settled societies—territory and resources—were probably the same for these groups. In particular, that part of the basin would have had an extensive beach along a shallow lake shore that attracted land animals to water and also provided perfect fishing grounds, making it the perfect place to hunt and fish. In contrast, a few kilometres to the east and to the north, the ancient deltas of the Kerio River and Turkwel River would have been forested and more dangerous, while further to the east the mountains that separate Lake Turkana from the Suguta Valley reached into the water. So Nataruk was at the centre of the best hunting and fishing grounds in that part of the Turkana Basin, and the hunter-gatherer communities there had access to much richer resources than others.

Mirazón Lahr argues that evolution is about survival, and that our species is no different from others in this respect.[13] When resources are insufficient, competing is part of surviving, and when groups thrive and expand over the territory of others, it can lead to conflict. In her view, the key to prehistoric conflict was probably population density: very low numbers may have inhibited warfare, while inter-group conflict may have been common in periods of food abundance and increased population density. These conditions were a recurrent part of our evolutionary history, making Nataruk extraordinary not because warfare was rare or because it is 10,000 years old, but because the evidence of inter-group violence has rarely been preserved in the archaeology of nomadic peoples. Unexpectedly, perhaps, those conditions arose when resources were plentiful.

Nataruk and Jebel Sahaba

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The Qadan graveyard at Jebel Sahaba (Site 117) is an extraordinary archaeological site. It was excavated by Fred Wendorf in the 1960s, who believed it to be of late Pleistocene-early Holocene age:

"...Near the end of the 1965 excavations several members of the Finnish Expedition joined in the effort to excavate the graveyard. Three burials were cleared by the Finnish group, and one skull was taken to the National Museum of Finland. Forty-nine skeletons were uncovered at this time. Subsequent excavations were undertaken by Marks in October, 1966, and six more skeletons were found. A total of 58 skeletons were recovered from all three projects at the site. Most of these were in excellent condition, and included both males and females, infants and adults. Although radiocarbon dates are not available, on the basis of associated artifacts, plus tenuous geologic evidence, the skeletons are believed to date somewhere between 12,000 and 10,000 B.C. They are particularly significant in that they provide an unusual opportunity to examine a sizable population of Late Pleistocene age."[14]

Antoine Zazzo has since carried out radiocarbon dating of the human remains using apatite,[15] although he stresses the ages obtained should be treated with caution "...because the reliability of the reference age, a bone collagen sample dated in the late 60's or very early 70's, i.e.well before the advent of modern purification techniques, and in a site where collagen preservation is very poor, remains questionable."[15] Nevertheless, the combination of the dates obtained by Antoine, and Wendorf's own assessment of the likely age of the remains, are a strong indication that the age of the human remains in the cemetery must be either a little older or similar to that of Nataruk.

The similarity in age between the two sites makes the comparison of the violent events they preserve fascinating. Jebel Sahaba is a cemetery, in which 58 people were intentionally buried, all in the same position, and in relatively elaborate graves, with some graves either lined by vertical large stone slabs, or covered by horizontal ones. Twenty-three of the 58 people buried at Jebel Sahaba have evidence of having died violently, including embedded projectiles. However, several aspects make Jebel Sahaba very different from Nataruk, suggesting parallels between Jebel Sahaba and later Neolithic sedentary societies:

  1. the fact that there was a large cemetery, and one with architecture suggests that those interred at Cemetery 117 lived in a settlement somewhere in the vicinity of the site, thus no longer as nomadic hunter-gatherers;
  2. the fact that some of the graves contain more than one skeleton (some with both adults and children) opens the possibility that each grave is an "event", and that the deaths record not a single violent encounter as in Nataruk, but recurrent attacks on Jebel Sahaba throughout a period of time, and that they buried their dead after each attack, in their own cemetery;
  3. the fact that the bodies were buried, means that there was time enough after the events in which people died to prepare a grave, of the right size for the number of individuals, in some cases lining them with slabs, to bury them following their traditions, placing the bodies in the same flexed position with the face oriented in the same direction.

The differences between the two sites make what was discovered at Nataruk even more significant by establishing that inter-group violence can and did arise independent of whether populations were sedentary and had possessions that today are identified as valuable. All it needed was for the benefits of stealing from another group to outweigh the costs of fighting for them.

References

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Nataruk

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Nataruk is an archaeological site in , , near a former lagoon west of , where the skeletal remains of at least 27 early hunter-gatherers, dating to between 9,500 and 10,500 years , were discovered in 2012. The site, excavated by a team led by Marta Mirazón Lahr of the of Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, reveals evidence of inter-group violence, including unburied bodies with trauma indicative of a possible by another forager band. This discovery represents the earliest recorded instance of such organized conflict among largely nomadic prehistoric populations, predating the emergence of and settled communities. Among the remains, 12 are relatively complete skeletons, while the rest consist of fragmented bones representing additional individuals, including men, women, children, and infants. Ten individuals exhibit clear signs of violent death, with eight showing perimortem injuries such as depressed fractures from blunt-force trauma and perforating lesions consistent with or impacts to the head and neck. Two skeletons display possible binding of the hands behind the back, suggesting before execution, and the absence of or settlement structures nearby supports the interpretation of a sudden, lethal raid rather than or accidental deaths. of associated freshwater shells and tools confirms the site's age, placing it in a period of environmental stability around a resource-rich that may have motivated territorial conflict. The Nataruk findings challenge long-held anthropological views that systematic warfare originated only with the and resource hoarding in farming societies, instead indicating that lethal inter-group raids occurred among mobile hunter-gatherers, possibly driven by competition for fertile areas or population pressures. However, the characterization of the event as a single coordinated massacre has faced scrutiny, with critics arguing that observed cranial injuries could stem from post-mortem taphonomic damage, animal scavenging, or multiple unrelated incidents rather than deliberate interpersonal in one attack. The original researchers have rebutted these claims, maintaining that the spatial clustering of remains, lack of healing on wounds, and contextual evidence support an episode of collective . Today, the Nataruk skeletons are preserved at the National Museums of Kenya's Turkana Basin Institute, contributing to ongoing studies of behavioral and the deep roots of conflict in our species.

Geographical and Historical Context

Site Location and Paleoenvironment

Nataruk is situated in , northwestern , approximately 30 km southwest of the modern shoreline of and about 2 km inland from the reconstructed paleoshoreline of the lake during the (AHP). The site occupies the eastern edge of a small sedimentary depression that formed a shallow during periods of high , characterized by a gravel bar ridge roughly 200 m long and 1 m high, parallel to ancient dunes, with associated mounds approximately 70 m to the northeast. The surface consists of small- to medium-sized overlying lake sediments, including carbonates, nodules, and abundant gastropod and shells, which collectively indicate proximity to a productive shallow water body. During the to early , spanning approximately 10,500–9,500 years (), the region around Nataruk experienced a markedly wetter climate as part of the AHP, when increased precipitation led to the expansion of into a massive freshwater body known as Mega-Lake Turkana, rising up to 100 m above modern levels and connecting hydrologically to the drainage system. This humid phase supported a fertile lakeshore with riparian woodlands along watercourses, expansive grasslands, and marshy embayments, fostering diverse ecosystems rich in both terrestrial and aquatic life. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions draw from multiple lines of evidence, including of shells (yielding 9,030–11,750 calibrated years ) and sediments (7,270–8,160 calibrated years ), optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of lake sediments at 9,680 ± 805 years, records indicating grassy and wooded , stable analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O) from pedogenic carbonates reflecting a reducing lacustrine setting, and faunal remains such as molluscs and fish bones that point to a dynamic, resource-abundant environment. The paleoenvironment at Nataruk facilitated exploitation of a variety of resources in this seasonal yet bountiful setting, including and from the lagoon and adjacent lake margins, as evidenced by barbed bone harpoons typical of early Turkana fisher-hunter assemblages, alongside terrestrial game from the surrounding grasslands and woodlands. Lag deposits of and tools scattered across the site further suggest repeated visits to procure and process these materials near the water's edge. This resource-rich locale transitioned toward greater aridity by the mid-, as lake levels receded and vegetation shifted to more drought-tolerant species, influencing regional human adaptations.

Human Occupation in Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene Turkana

The to early Holocene transition in the Turkana Basin, spanning approximately 11,700 to 9,500 years (), marked a period of increasing human adaptation to fluctuating environmental conditions, including higher lake levels and expanded wetlands that supported diverse strategies. Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) occupied the region in small, mobile bands, relying on , gathering, and without evidence of or , which emerged later around 5,000 . The Nataruk site itself dates to 10,500–9,500 , established through of associated shells, sediments, and ostrich fragments, alongside optically stimulated and uranium-series methods, placing it firmly within this transitional phase. Cultural adaptations during this era centered on forager societies equipped with microlithic tool technologies, particularly obsidian-backed pieces used for , , and composite tools like arrows or spears. Evidence from camps, such as those documented along ancient shorelines, indicates seasonal mobility tied to resource availability, with harpoons and remains pointing to intensive exploitation of lacustrine environments during periods of lake highstands. Stable analyses of human remains from contemporaneous sites reveal diverse diets incorporating C3 pathway (e.g., wooded ), C4 grasses, and significant aquatic proteins, reflecting opportunistic in a mosaic landscape. Morphological affinities, particularly in mandibular form, link the Nataruk individuals to other early East African forager populations from sites such as Lothagam, suggesting continuity in physical characteristics among mobile hunter-gatherers across the region. Regional sites like Lothagam and Lowasera exemplify typical patterns of resource-focused occupation, with Lothagam yielding stratified sequences of fishing and hunting tools indicative of sustained, non-violent exploitation of lake margins from around 10,000 . Similarly, Lowasera preserves evidence of early forager activities, including microliths and faunal remains, highlighting cooperative subsistence without signs of intergroup conflict. These peaceful adaptations contrast sharply with the violent event at Nataruk, underscoring the rarity of such aggression in the broader of Turkana Basin foragers during this period.

Discovery and Excavation

Initial Findings in 2012

In 2012, during a systematic survey for early archaeological sites in the West Turkana region near , , a team from the University of Cambridge's IN-AFRICA project unexpectedly discovered the Nataruk site. Local Turkana field assistant Pedro Ebeya, while scouting the area, spotted fragments of human bones exposed on the surface of a gravel bar ridge adjacent to a former lagoon, prompting further investigation by the team led by archaeologist Marta Mirazón Lahr. This serendipitous find occurred as part of broader efforts to document human adaptations in the region during the transition from the to the . Initial surface observations revealed the remains of at least 27 individuals scattered across an area of approximately 30 meters by 30 meters, with no of deliberate and the skeletons appearing in disarray, some partially submerged in what was once shallow water. Among the exposed bones, the team noted clear signs of trauma, including skull fractures and embedded arrowheads, suggesting violent injuries rather than natural causes. Notably absent were artifacts indicative of a , such as hearths or structured tools, with only scattered lithic fragments collected from the surface. These preliminary assessments highlighted the site's potential as a rare snapshot of prehistoric intergroup conflict among nomadic foragers. Surface collections of tools aligned stylistically with early industries around 10,000 years (), and subsequent rapid of associated organic materials confirmed the remains dated to between 10,500 and 9,500 calibrated years . The excavation and analysis were directed by Marta Mirazón Lahr and co-director Robert Foley, with collaboration from institutions including the and the Turkana Basin . Funding came primarily from the European Research Council's IN-AFRICA project (ERC grant 295907), focused on human adaptation to , supplemented by the Newby Trust and the McDonald for Archaeological Research. The work adhered to ethical protocols, securing permissions from Kenyan authorities and engaging respectfully with local Turkana communities to ensure cultural sensitivity in handling ancestral remains.

Excavation Techniques and Preservation Challenges

The excavation at Nataruk began in 2012 following the initial surface discovery of human remains and was conducted systematically across a gravel bar ridge and adjacent mounds near a prehistoric lagoon. Researchers employed grid-based methods to map and recover artifacts and skeletal elements, using sieves to process sediments for small faunal remains and lithics. A total of 27 individuals were documented, comprising 12 articulated skeletons excavated in situ and 15 partial fragments from the surface, with all remains photographed and recorded in their original positions prior to removal to preserve spatial context. The process involved careful manual excavation to avoid further fragmentation, yielding 762 lithic artifacts, predominantly Later Stone Age obsidian bladelets and microliths, alongside faunal elements such as fish bones and shells embedded in the sediments. Preservation at the open-air site posed significant challenges due to prolonged exposure on deflated surfaces, resulting in , , and scattering of bones across the . While lagoon-derived silts and lake carbonates provided some protection by encasing portions of the skeletons—preserving 20-70% of certain individuals intact—the lack of pits or protective structures led to post-mortem disturbance, including fragmentation and likely from natural agents like wind deflation and water flow. No of scavenging marks was noted, but the variable taphonomic states complicated reconstruction, with some elements patinated and others showing signs of mechanical damage from environmental exposure. Post-excavation efforts included initial cleaning and preparation of the remains at the Turkana Basin Institute's laboratories, followed by transport to the in for long-term curation under accession numbers KNM-WT 71251-71277. The work was a collaborative endeavor between the University of Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, the , and the Turkana Basin Institute, ensuring compliance with local heritage protocols. Associated gastropod shells, potentially used as beads, were also recovered and analyzed alongside the skeletal material to contextualize the site's depositional history.

Analysis of the Remains

Demographic Profile of the Victims

The remains from Nataruk represent a minimum of 27 individuals, including 21 adults and 6 juveniles, with an additional fetal individual (approximately 6-9 months ) recovered from the of one adult , bringing the total to 28. Age at death was estimated using standard osteological methods, including dental eruption and development, epiphyseal fusion, and cranial suture closure; the juveniles ranged from under 3 years to 12-15 years, while the adults were predominantly young to middle-aged (18-45 years), with one possible older adult identified through dental wear and joint degeneration. Sex was determined for 16 of the adults based on pelvic morphology (e.g., sciatic notch shape and subpubic angle) and cranial features (e.g., mastoid process size and supraorbital morphology), yielding 8 males and 8 females; the remaining 5 adults and all juveniles were of undetermined sex due to incomplete preservation. Among the adults, DNA analysis was not performed, but the morphological assessments confirmed a balanced sex ratio in the identifiable sample. The individuals exhibited robust skeletal builds consistent with an active lifestyle, as indicated by muscle attachment sites on s, though specific stature estimates from measurements were not reported. indicators were generally positive, with minor non-specific pathologies such as dental wear from a abrasive diet and degenerative disease in a few adults, but no evidence of chronic infectious s or nutritional deficiencies was observed. The group composition suggests a mixed foraging band of adults and children, with partial juvenile remains found in proximity to adult females, implying familial or caregiving structures typical of mobile hunter-gatherer societies.

Patterns of Trauma and Cause of Death

The analysis of the 27 human remains from Nataruk reveals patterns of trauma consistent with interpersonal violence, primarily affecting 10 of the 12 articulated skeletons, affecting 8 of the approximately 10 adult articulated skeletons in the assemblage. These individuals include 5 males, 3 females, and 2 subadults, with a higher proportion of adult males showing severe injuries, highlighting potential demographic vulnerabilities in such encounters. However, some cranial injuries have been contested as possibly resulting from postmortem damage rather than violence. The traumas are perimortem, as evidenced by the absence of healing in fractures observed through radiographic and CT scan analyses, indicating a sudden and lethal event. Trauma types encompass blunt force, sharp force, and injuries, often in combination on the same individuals. Blunt force injuries, documented in 8 cases (5 cranial, 2 , 1 ) across the affected skeletons, include depressed and radiating fractures on the crania (e.g., temporal and frontal bones) likely caused by clubs or similar implements, as well as fractures to the knees, ribs, hands, and . Sharp force traumas, observed in 5 to 6 cases, consist of perforating lesions and cuts on the head, , and , such as stab wounds to the vertebrae and thoracic regions, probably inflicted by bladed weapons. wounds affected 2 individuals, with microliths (arrowheads) recovered embedded in cranial and thoracic bones, demonstrating penetration from close-range attacks. The distribution of injuries underscores the lethality of the assault, with cranial and thoracic regions most targeted, leading to primary causes of death via brain trauma, exsanguination from vascular damage, or spinal disruption. The positions of four skeletons, including one adult female, suggest that their hands may have been bound behind their backs prior to death, while a parrying fracture on the hand of one individual indicates limited defensive actions during the attack. No trauma was observed on the fetal remains or most subadult bones, though one subadult shows possible blunt force evidence. Taphonomic analysis distinguishes perimortem from postmortem through features like fresh edges, lack of on lesions, and deformation in , contrasting with dry bone snaps and compression seen in disarticulated remains. The skeletons' positions—some or prone at the lagoon edge, others submerged—along with the absence of pits or beyond combat injuries, indicate no or post-attack modification occurred. Preservation was aided by the anoxic lagoon environment, minimizing disturbance and enabling detailed trauma documentation.

Interpretations and Broader Implications

Evidence for Intergroup Violence Among Hunter-Gatherers

The skeletal remains at Nataruk, discovered in an open-air setting without evidence of deliberate , alongside a diverse including adult males, females, children, and a pregnant , point to a sudden and lethal attack rather than deaths or isolated incidents. Ten of the twelve individuals exhibit clear signs of fatal trauma, such as embedded projectile points and blunt force injuries consistent with close-range combat, suggesting an organized raid by an external group possibly motivated by resource competition in the resource-rich environment. The absence of or valuables nearby further implies that the was not opportunistic but likely a territorial conflict among bands. This event challenges longstanding notions of pre-agricultural societies as inherently peaceful, often romanticized as the "" archetype, by demonstrating that systematic intergroup violence occurred among mobile hunter-gatherers approximately 10,000 years ago, predating the emergence of and in by several millennia, as these practices arrived around 5,000–3,000 . Stable and contextual analyses indicate that the victims were local foragers reliant on the regional , with no signs of migration or outsider status among them, underscoring that such conflicts arose within established egalitarian communities potentially exacerbated by population pressures or climatic fluctuations in the early . The lack of defensive structures at the site, combined with the ambush-like positioning of the bodies, supports an interpretation of surprise intergroup aggression rather than sustained warfare. Debates persist regarding the precise nature of the violence, with some researchers proposing alternative explanations such as intra-group feuds or accidental deaths, arguing that the evidence for organized external attack is circumstantial without direct proof of perpetrator identity or motive. However, the variety of weapons used—ranging from obsidian-tipped arrows to clubs—and the scale of the assault on non-combatants bolster the case for intergroup dynamics over internal strife. Unlike later prehistoric sites with fortifications, Nataruk's open exposure highlights vulnerability in nomadic lifestyles. Providing some of the earliest unambiguous evidence in for a possible single-episode among s, distinct from recurrent at older sites like , the Nataruk findings, published in 2016, reveal unexpected social complexity in ostensibly egalitarian groups, prompting reevaluation of as a potential driver of long before sedentary societies emerged.

Comparisons with Jebel Sahaba and Other Sites

The site of , located in northern along the River and dating to approximately 13,400–18,600 cal BP, represents one of the earliest known instances of organized interpersonal violence in the Nile Valley, where 61 individuals—likely from a semi-sedentary group—exhibit predominantly injuries from microlithic arrowheads, indicative of episodic raids or feuds rather than a singular massacre event, with recent analysis linking the violence to climatic and environmental pressures. In contrast, the Nataruk site in , dated to around 10,000 BP, features 27 individuals with a broader spectrum of trauma, including embedded arrowheads, sharp-force cuts from blades, and blunt-force injuries from clubs, suggesting close-quarters combat during a sudden attack on a mobile group. These differences highlight Nataruk's evidence of diverse weaponry and opportunistic tactics among highly nomadic foragers, versus Jebel Sahaba's focus on ranged assaults possibly tied to territorial disputes in a more resource-stable riverine environment, despite both sites sharing a similar scale of affected individuals (around 20–40% showing lethal trauma). Shared patterns between the two sites underscore the prevalence of intergroup raids in pre-agricultural East African and Nile Valley societies, where violence targeted non-combatants, including a notable proportion of females (around 30–50% across sites) and children/non-adults (20–30%), implying strategies aimed at group disruption rather than solely elimination. Both assemblages predate the transition and feature microlithic technologies adapted for composite weapons, reflecting cultural parallels in tool use across regions without evidence of direct genetic continuity between the populations. Comparisons with other prehistoric violence sites further contextualize Nataruk's significance within African and global patterns. For instance, the Ofnet Cave in (~9,000 BP) preserves 34 crania with perimortem , interpreted as a massacre of a small community, but its European forest-edge setting and later timing contrast with Nataruk's open-lacustrine African environment and earlier nomadic context. Similarly, the Crow Creek mass grave in , (~700 BP), documents a fortified village attack resulting in over 500 scalped and mutilated victims during the Late Prehistoric period, emphasizing scaled-up communal defense in semi-sedentary agrarian societies, unlike Nataruk's unfortified, egalitarian forager vulnerability in East Africa's arid . These cases illustrate Nataruk's earliness and regional specificity as a benchmark for lethal conflict in mobile bands. In scholarly discourse, the Nataruk findings have refined interpretations of , shifting views from a model of "proto-warfare" as a single cataclysmic event to recurrent, low-intensity conflicts, with Nataruk providing the clearest archaeological signature of a one-off intergroup among foragers, thus extending the timeline of organized lethal violence predating .
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