It is a scene that exudes sadness: a child perhaps 2-1/2 or 3 years old buried in a shallow grave under the sheltered overhang of a cave, head resting on a pillow and the upper part of the body carefully wrapped in a shroud.
Scientists have uncovered “extraordinary” evidence of what is thought to be the oldest deliberate human burial in Africa, dating to 78,000 years ago.
The remains of a three-year-old child were unearthed at Panga ya Saidi – a cave on the Kenyan coast, with “astonishingly preserved” bone arrangements.
The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Nature, are the earliest known evidence of a ceremonial act of burial by modern humans in Africa and offer new insight into how our ancestors treated their dead.
Professor Nicole Boivin, director of the department of archaeology at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, said: “As soon as we first visited Panga ya Saidi, we knew that it was special.
How did human uniqueness first evolve among our ancestors, setting us apart from other animals? That is a question many archaeologists are grappling with by investigating early records of art, language, food preparation, ornaments and symbols. How our ancestors treated and mourned the dead can also offer crucial clues, helping to reveal when we first developed the abstract thinking needed to fully grasp the concept of death.
Now we have discovered a 78,000-year-old human burial at a cave in the tropical coast of eastern Africa, which provides tantalising evidence about our ancestors’ treatment of the dead. Our new study, published in Nature, describes the burial of a 2½ to 3-year-old child, nicknamed “Mtoto” (Swahili for “child”), at the Panga ya Saidi archaeological site in Kenya. It is the earliest known
Oldest human burial in Africa unearthed
Discovery sheds light on the evolution of modern human behaviour.
An artist’s interpretation of Mtoto’s burial. Credit: Fernando Fueyo
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.
By WILL DUNHAM Reuters
Published May 6, 2021 2:26am
The burial of a young child dubbed Mtoto around 78,000 years ago at a cave site in Kenya, the oldest-known human burial on the continent where our species Homo sapiens originated is seen in an undated artist s interpretation. Fernando Fueyo/Handout via REUTERS It is a scene that exudes sadness: a child perhaps 2-1/2 or 3 years old buried in a shallow grave under the sheltered overhang of a cave, head resting on a pillow and the upper part of the body carefully wrapped in a shroud. The cave site of Panga ya Saidi, in Kenya s Kilifi County is seen in this undated photograph. The remains of a child, roughly aged 3 who lived about 78,000 years ago, were found in a burial pit at the mouth of the cave, the oldest-known human burial in Africa. Mohammad Javad Shoaee/Handout via REUTERS