Oldest human burial in Africa unearthed

29 May 2021, Author: Amalyah Hart

About 78,000 years ago, at the mouth of a yawning cave complex in today’s south-eastern Kenya, someone placed the body of a three-year-old child on its side in a purpose-dug grave and covered it with earth from the cave floor.

Whatever else was said or done in those moments is lost in time, but this intentional act – described today in a paper in the journal Nature – is the oldest human burial ever uncovered in Africa and offers scientists a window into ancient burial practice.

Full article: https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/oldest-human-burial-in-africa/

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