A local tip helps reveal an ancient 'arcade' in Kenya's highlands

The discovery of about 20 ancient Mancala game boards carved on rocks in central Kenya demonstrates the benefits of scholars partnering with local amateurs.
By Mike Cummings
february 1, 2024



During a trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in central Kenya, Yale's Veronica Waweru noticed rows of shallow pits drilled into rock where she believes ancient people played a version of the game Mancala, a two-player, strategy-based board game still played across the world today. (Photos courtesy of Veronica Waweru)

Two years ago, Yale archaeologist Veronica Waweru was in central Kenya, where she conducts her fieldwork, when she received a tip from a local contact. Tourists, she was told, were removing stone hand axes from a prehistoric site located within a private wildlife conservancy.

Beyond drawing her attention to the looting of the site, the heads-up eventually led Waweru to a stunning archaeological discovery: an “arcade” of ancient Mancala game boards carved into rock.

After receiving the tip, Waweru exchanged emails with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, the organization that manages the nature reserve, about the hand-axe site, which was previously known but had never been excavated or dated. Then, last summer, Waweru, a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and director of undergraduate studies at the Council on African Studies at Yale’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, had her first opportunity to visit the conservancy.

At Lewa, Waweru was driven around the property by a staff member who leads tours there and who had previously discovered multiple other ancient sites on the conservancy, including a burial complex consisting of 19 stone cairns. She learned that steps had been taken to preserve the known hand axe site and was relieved to find a “carpet” of hand axes covering the ground.

More:
https://news.yale.edu/2024/02/01/local-tip-helps-reveal-ancient-arcade-kenyas-highlands