These Pits Carved Into Rocks in Kenya Might Be Ancient Game Boards
These Pits Carved Into Rocks in Kenya Might Be Ancient Game Boards
These Pits Carved Into Rocks in Kenya Might Be Ancient Game Boards
By Sonja Anderson
February 7, 2024
Summary
Yale archaeologist Veronica Waweru was conducting fieldwork in Kenya last summer when she received a tip from a local: Tourists were removing hand axes from a site inside the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.
Another site caught her eye during her visit: rows of shallow pits carved into a nearby rock ledge.
Waweru thinks the pits were game boards once used for mancala, a family of two-player strategy games.
"It's a valley full of these game boards, like an ancient arcade," says Waweru in the statement.
"Dating the game boards precisely is challenging because the rock they are carved into is about 400 million years old."
Who used the game boards? Their location may offer a clue: The site-situated near the equator, on the eastern side of Africa's Great Rift Valley-occupies a low-lying basin surrounded by highlands, per the statement.
The conservancy's nearby burial site could also help contextualize the game boards.
Reference
Anderson, S. (2024, February 7). These Pits Carved Into Rocks in Kenya Might Be Ancient Game Boards. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-carved-pits-on-a-kenyan-rock-ledge-may-be-ancient-game-boards-180983745/