First published 14 May 2021
There have been numerous surveys to locate Du Toit’s torrent frog since its last record in 1962, but all attempts have failed to find the species.
Scientists from the Natural History Museum and ZSL (Zoological Society of London) are part of a new study looking into the potential extinction of
Arthroleptides dutoiti, or Du Toit’s Torrent frog. Known to be currently Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, Du Toit’s Torrent frog is a priority species on ZSL’s EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) amphibians list, given its Red List status and phylogenetic distinctiveness. There have been numerous surveys to locate Du Toit’s torrent frog since its last record in 1962, but all attempts have failed to find the species.
Saturday, 8 May, 2021 - 06:00
The burial of a young child around 78,000 years ago in a cave site in Kenya is seen in an undated artist s interpretation. (Handout via Reuters) Paris, London - Asharq Al-Awsat
The remains of a child no older than three were unearthed in a 78,000-year-old grave, with his legs carefully tucked up against its tiny chest. A new study suggests it is the earliest known human burial in Africa.
The sunken pit, in a cave complex along the coast of Kenya, was bereft of ornaments, offerings clay carvings found in the region s more recent Stone Age graves, as detailed in the journal Nature. But Mtoto Swahili for child had been wrapped in a shroud with her or his head resting on what was probably a pillow, indicating that the community may have undertaken some form of funerary rite, said lead author Maria Martinon-Torres, director of the National Research Center on Human Evolution, in Bur
This handout picture released on May 4 shows archaelogists at the Panga Ya Saidi site. AFP
PARIS: A child no older than three laid to rest sideways in an earthen grave 78,000 years ago, legs carefully tucked up against its tiny chest, is the earliest known human burial in Africa, researchers reported on Wednesday.
The sunken pit, in a cave complex along the coast of Kenya, was bereft of ornaments, offerings or ochre-coloured clay carvings found in the region’s more recent Stone Age graves, they detailed in the journal
Nature.
But Mtoto Swahili for “child” had been wrapped in a shroud with her or his head resting on what was probably a pillow, “indicating that the community may have undertaken some form of funerary rite”, said lead author Maria Martinon-Torres, director of the National Research Centre on Human Evolution, in Burgos, Spain.
A child no older than three laid to rest sideways in an earthen grave 78,000 years ago, legs carefully tucked up against its tiny chest, is the earliest known h
This handout computer-generated image released on May 4, 2021 by the CNRS-University of Bordeaux, shows the remains of a 3-year-old child named by the scientists Mtoto (meaning child in Swahili) and buried inside a deliberately dug pit, were discovered by archaelogists. Photograph:( AFP )
Story highlights
The extraordinary find highlights the emergence of both complex social behaviour among Homo sapiens, and cultural differences across populations of modern humans in Africa and beyond
A child no older than three laid to rest sideways in an earthen grave 78,000 years ago, legs carefully tucked up against its tiny chest, is the earliest known human burial in Africa, researchers reported Wednesday.