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 )
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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.
Africa s oldest human burial site discovered, child laid to rest with pillow 78,000 years ago
Africa s oldest human burial site discovered, child laid to rest with pillow 78,000 years ago
Scientists have found the oldest-known human burial in Africa, dating to about 78,000 years ago at a cave site called Panga ya Saidi near the Kenyan coast. The remains of the child, who was between 2 ½ and 3 years old, laid to rest with a pillow were found in the cave.
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UPDATED: May 6, 2021 10:41 IST
The cave site of Panga ya Saidi, in Kenya s Kilifi County is seen in this undated photograph. (Photo: 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.
Scientists uncover Africa s oldest human burial, a child s 78,000-year-old remains
Thursday May 06 2021
The Panga Ya Saidi site in Mombasa, Kenya, where the remains of a three-year-old child named by the scientists Mtoto and buried inside a deliberately dug pit were discovered by archaeologists. PHOTO | AFP
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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.
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.
311 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
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 said on Wednesday they have found the oldest-known human burial in Africa, the continent that gave rise to our species, dating to about 78,000 years ago at a cave site called Panga ya Saidi near the Kenyan coast. They nicknamed the youngster Mtoto, meaning child in Swahili.