--- title: Skeletons Show Warfare Could Be 10,000 Years Old description: The discovery may be the earliest proof of warfare. canonical: https://time.com/4189061/nature-journal-kenya-warfare/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-21T18:56:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:20:24.756Z article:section: Science og:title: Here's Proof Humans Have Killed Each Other for 10,000 Years og:description: Grisly remains discovered in Kenya may be earliest evidence of warfare og:url: https://time.com/4189061/nature-journal-kenya-warfare/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29a4fb3f94b6ec70/69887a08428a9e70d2cd10c3/skeletons-kenya-earliest-case-warfare.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Prehistoric Massacre og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Proof Humans Have Killed Each Other for 10,000 Years twitter:description: Grisly remains discovered in Kenya may be earliest evidence of warfare twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29a4fb3f94b6ec70/69887a08428a9e70d2cd10c3/skeletons-kenya-earliest-case-warfare.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Discovery Shows Humans Have Been Killing Each Other for 10,000 Years  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jan 21, 2016 6:56 PM UTC  In this August 2012 photo provided by Marta Mirazon Lahr, researcher Frances Rivera, right, Michael Emsugut, left, and Tot Ekulukum excavate a human skeleton at the site of Nataruk, West Turkana, Kenya. This skeleton was that of a woman, found lying on her back, with lesions on her neck vertebrae consistent with a projectile wound. She also had multiple fractures on one of her hands. In a paper released on Jan. 20, 2016, by the Nature Journal, scientists said it’s one of the clearest cases of violence between groups among prehistoric hunter-gatherers. In this August 2012 photo provided by Marta Mirazon Lahr, researcher Frances Rivera, right, Michael Emsugut, left, and Tot Ekulukum excavate a human skeleton at the site of Nataruk, West Turkana, Kenya. This skeleton was that of a woman, found lying on her back, with lesions on her neck vertebrae consistent with a projectile wound. She also had multiple fractures on one of her hands. In a paper released on Jan. 20, 2016, by the Nature Journal, scientists said it’s one of the clearest cases of violence between groups among prehistoric hunter-gatherers.Marta Mirazon Lahr—AP  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jan 21, 2016 6:56 PM UTC The remains of at least 27 individuals in Kenya show [evidence of violent murders](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/01/21/10000-year-old-massacre-remains-may-be-our-oldest-evidence-of-war/) that took place around 10,000 years ago, and may be the earliest instance of warfare on record. Nature Journal [published](http://www.nature.com/articles/nature16477.epdf?referrer%5Faccess%5Ftoken=%5FCO%5F7oHndt3L37pE4f-Ne9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0PAIwkAzho9qL3jGwTvR7deeNyh24-%5FocUS4WRKHbNI8td2PBF2V%5FHfXI35VrfIO%5FfrlkhBuvaYxWA%5F6Mw59d2EkkBj72hoaRLVx0X1NKieLumUi9ZJ3d1LJ8gXhdcPtbji4YJsGmRryEODWD76ZjsRujTEHHS-bz3HLvh1deNhg7wfgl9jqZrGSzCWDVJkkpp-EnAtlc5-EreOj4u8NP%5FA-z1qu37G7d%5FEY57DIoUusW7WqtWoZ2NGXu8cjhoj7ZM%3D&tracking%5Freferrer=www.washingtonpost.com) the findings on Wednesday about the grisly discovery; many of the deceased had fractures, and some had been tied up before they were killed. None of the dead were buried. The authors say this is the earliest extant evidence of a group of humans killing another group intentionally. “These human remains record the intentional killing of a small band of foragers with no deliberate burial, and provide unique evidence that warfare was part of the repertoire of inter-group relations among some prehistoric hunter-gatherers,” said lead author Marta Mirazon Lahr in a [statement](http://phys.org/news/2016-01-evidence-prehistoric-massacre-history-warfare.html). The remains exhibited evidence of blunt force trauma such as crushed skulls and wounds from spears or projectiles. Two sharp obsidian weapons that weren’t native to the area were [found](http://phys.org/news/2016-01-evidence-prehistoric-massacre-history-warfare.html) amongst the skeletons, leading the researchers to conjecture that the murderers travelled from elsewhere. \[[_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/20/we-have-a-q-tips-problem/?postshare=7421453398348082&tid=ss%5Ftw)\] Skeletons Show Warfare Could Be 10,000 Years Old ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4189061/nature-journal-kenya-warfare/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4189061/nature-journal-kenya-warfare/"},"headline":"This Discovery Shows Humans Have Been Killing Each Other for 10,000 Years","datePublished":"2016-01-21T18:56:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:20:24.756Z","description":"The discovery may be the earliest proof of warfare.","url":"https://time.com/4189061/nature-journal-kenya-warfare/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29a4fb3f94b6ec70/69887a08428a9e70d2cd10c3/skeletons-kenya-earliest-case-warfare.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29a4fb3f94b6ec70/69887a08428a9e70d2cd10c3/skeletons-kenya-earliest-case-warfare.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Prehistoric Massacre","caption":"In this August 2012 photo provided by Marta Mirazon Lahr, researcher Frances Rivera, right, Michael Emsugut, left, and Tot Ekulukum excavate a human skeleton at the site of Nataruk, West Turkana, Kenya. 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