Cremation pyre in Africa thought to be world’s oldest containing adult remains | Anthropology
A crematorium built around 9,500 years ago has been discovered in Africa, offering a new look at the complexity of ancient hunter-gatherer societies.
The pyre, found in a rock shelter at the foot of Mount Hora in northern Malawi, is thought to be the oldest pyre in the world containing adult remains, the oldest pyre confirmed to have been deliberately burned in Africa, and the first pyre associated with African hunter-gatherers, researchers say.
During excavations in 2017 and 2018, a total of 170 individual human bone fragments were discovered in two clusters along with layers of ash, charcoal and sediment, which appeared to belong to an adult female just under 1.5 meters (5 ft) tall.
However, the woman’s skull was missing; Cut marks indicate that some bones were disjointed and flesh was removed before the body was burned.
Dr. from the University of Oklahoma, who conducted the research. “There is no evidence to suggest that they committed any acts of violence or cannibalism towards the remains,” Jessica Cerezo-Román said. Instead, he said, the body parts may have been removed as part of a burial ritual, perhaps to be carried as symbols.
Dr., one of the senior authors of the study from Yale University. While such practices may not seem relatable, people still keep locks of their hair or a relative’s ashes to scatter in a meaningful place, Jessica Thompson said.
The rock shelter was used as a natural monument and the burials occurred approximately 16,000 to 8,000 years ago, the researchers said. In addition to complete skeletons, very small collections of bones belonging to different individuals were also found.
“[This] Dr., a co-author of the study from the University of Alberta. “It supports our hypothesis that some of the missing bones of the cremated woman may have been deliberately removed and taken as symbols for treatment or reburial elsewhere,” said Ebeth Sawchuk.
The team also found stone chip fragments and spikes within the pyre, which may have been added as part of the burial ritual.
“Were people actively throwing these things into the fire or…were they inside the body?” said Thompson. Cerezo-Román said one possibility is that people were carving stones to cut the woman’s flesh.
The team also found that the woodpile was about the size of a queen-size mattress and would require significant knowledge, skill, and coordination to build and maintain; Two clusters of bones indicate that the body was moved during cremation.
Although it is unclear why the woman was given such special treatment, the team found that at least one fire was lit directly above the pyre, possibly as an act of remembrance.
However, there is also evidence of many campfires in the area, and Thompson states that the shelter was likely used for daily life.
Don’t write Science Advances journalThe team notes that the oldest known pyre containing human remains was previously found in Alaska and dates back to about 11,500 years ago; but this was for a little boy.
In fact, most burnt human remains dating back 8,000 years or more have not been found in a pyre, and before the latest find, the oldest confirmed intentional burnings in Africa occurred only about 3,500 years ago. pastoral Neolithic people.
The discovery that different people deserve different treatment in death “suggests that they had much more complexity in life than I had ever imagined in their social roles, or that it was certainly stereotypically defined, especially for these older tropical hunter-gatherers,” Thompson said.
Joel Irish, professor of anthropology and archeology at Liverpool John Moores University, who was not involved in the study, welcomed the discovery.
“The fact that this is such an early date and that they were so transient as hunter-gatherers makes it even more surprising,” he said.
“They clearly had well-developed belief systems and high levels of social complexity at such an early date.”
