Kakapel Rockshelter

Osaga Odak, then part of the University of Nairobi, published the first report on Kakapel in 1977.[1] The site was exposed following the clearing of the impenetrable bushes in the region.[1] The paintings can be divided into three panels, and each of them described with regard to artistic representation, space attributed to particular paintings, color, identity of the painting, preservation, and destruction status.[1] Cattle are the main domestic animals present and are part of the figures which indicate skillful use of perspective.[1] In 1978, Odak organized an expedition dubbed the Prehistoric Art of Kenya Project in western Kenya and carried out a regional survey.[5] There were no comparable rock art sites that were found within the Chelemuk Hills, prompting the team to conclude that the site was an important location for the earlier inhabitants.[5] TARA re-documented the site in 1997.[2]

A team from the National Museums of Kenya and TARA returned to the site in 2002 only to find it vandalized.[2] The second phase of research was carried out first by RARI and the National Museums of Kenya where the art of Kakapel was retraced.[2] Through community engagement, TARA and the NMK carried out training and built a cultural center to ensure the conservation of the site.[2] There were two seasons of archaeological research: in 2012, there were test excavations at the site, rock painting analysis, and collection of samples for environmental reconstruction and expansive excavations in 2015.[2] Excavations resumed in the region in 2018, as part of collaborative research between the National Museums of Kenya and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany.[4] Notably, is the investigation of the importance of shape and size of grain to distinguish Eleusine corocana (finger millet) populations across time and space.[4]

Soil samples collected during the excavation were floated to separate heavy and light fractions in order to extract the archaeobotanical remains.[4] Only a small percentage of the seeds were identified beyond family level.[4] The site also yielded the first evidence for finger millet (E. coracana) cultivation in western Kenya.[4]

Kakapel rock art is arguably the most elaborative art work of past populations in the region that might belong to different groups of people.[1] There are both schematic and naturalistic representations in white, red and brown.[2] There are single executions as well as superimpositions of white figures that overlay those in red.[1] The differences in physical conditions and color suggest use of the site by different groups of people, with those who used the red paint having inhabited the area earlier.[1] White human figures are marked and highly stylized compared to other representations. Also, there are red figures that could possibly be human figures or snakes.[1] The cattle (domestic animals) are somewhat detailed, with an emphasis on the fact that they are hump-less and have large-sized horns.[1] Other animals represented include white giraffes with outstretched necks, a tortoise, an antelope, a grazing pig-like animal, a bi-chrome mole-like animal, an unidentified long-necked polychrome figure and six-legged figures[1] and elephants.[2] Tools including spears, arrows, shields, and a boat are also represented.[1] A relatively high number of schematic representations include, all-white concentric circles (some hooked with radial lines), single circles, spirals, heart shaped objects, dots and rayed figures.[1] The rock art has not been directly dated but is thought to have been drawn between 2000 and 4000 years ago based by representations of the different art.[7]