Researchers have identified the earliest known human burial in Africa at Panga ya Saidi, a cave near the Kenyan coast. A child, probably a boy of about 2-1/2 to 3 years old, was placed in a pit about 78,000 years ago, laid carefully on his side, curled up, likely with some kind of pillow under his head. Modern humans and Neanderthals buried their dead in Europe and the Middle East at multiple sites that have been dated as 120,000 years old. But little evidence of burial behaviors has been uncovered in Africa, the acknowledged origin of modern humans. One possible burial in South Africa dates to about 74,000 years ago and another in Egypt to 68,000 years ago. The burial of this person the researchers named Mtoto, meaning “child” in Swahili, clearly shows intentional care that characterizes what scientists call funerary behavior, as opposed to merely placing remains at a distance from a camp.
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
More Stories
Economic Perks of Growing Cycling Culture in North Africa
The Bank of Uganda Lowers Limits on the Value of Cheque Payments to Promote e-payments
Four Industrial Policy Regimes that have Shaped Africa
Ex Standard Bank Leader Cleared in Mozambique Price Fixing
Zanzibar and Pemba are about to Become a Test Site for a Mobile Internet Network
East Africa’s Mineral Deposits at the Centre of Future-facing Commodities
A Scramble for Controlling Interest in Nigeria’s Oldest Bank
Top Risks Facing South Africa
New Scheme to Save Zimbabwe’s Botched Land Reform
The First Floating LNG Facility is Deployed in the Deep Waters of the African Continent
The EU Lifts Air Travel Bans on Southern African States
Senegal’s Illustrious Portfolio of Architecture