Located in the foothills of Mount Elgon near the Kenya-Uganda border, the Kakapel Rockshelter has provided remarkable insights into the origins of agriculture in East Africa. Archaeologists, led by Natalie Mueller of Washington University in St. Louis, have uncovered a significant assemblage of ancient plant remains, shedding light on the early history of farming in the region. This discovery, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, marks the earliest evidence of plant farming in East Africa, challenging previous assumptions about agricultural development in this part of the continent. Ancient Skeletons Change History: Farming Invented Multiple Times Across the Globe Said to Cure Everything but Death, These Seeds are an Ancient Miracle Cure A Treasure Trove of Plant Remains The excavation at Kakapel, a site recognized as a Kenyan national monument since 2004, has unearthed the largest and most extensively dated archaeobotanical record from interior East Africa. Despite numerous narratives about the beginnings of agriculture in East Africa, direct evidence of ancient plants has been sparse. This has left scientists with limited understanding of how early farming practices emerged in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyHistoryAncient TraditionsRead Later