Turkana boy, or Nariokotome boy, is the fossil KNM-WT 15000. It is a nearly complete skeleton of a hominid who died in the early Pleistocene 1.5 million years ago (mya), near present-day Lake Turkana in northwest Kenya. This specimen is the most complete early human skeleton ever found. It was first classified as Homo erectus; after much heated debate, it was re-classified as Homo ergaster.
His age at death has been estimated from 7 years six months to as old as 15 years. The most recent scientific review suggests 8 years of age. It was first thought that he would have grown to 1.85 m tall, but recently a height of 1.63 m was proposed. Research showed that his growth differed from that of modern humans: he would have had a shorter and smaller adolescent growth spurt.
The skeleton was discovered in 1984 by Kamoya Kimeu, a member of a team led by Richard Leakey, at Nariokotome near Lake Turkana in northwest Kenya.