Discovery of the First Tombs of the Human Being.
A team led by paleoanthropologist Lee Berger announced today that they have unearthed the oldest prehistoric tombs discovered so far in South Africa, a discovery that would set back the first traces of burial practices by at least 100.000 years.
"These are the oldest hominid burials ever recorded, predating 'Homo sapiens' burials by at least 100.000 years."
Say the scientists in a series of papers, which have yet to be peer-reviewed before being published in the scientific journal eLife.
"These findings show that mortuary practices were not limited to 'Homo sapiens' or other hominids with large brains," they add.
The oval tombs, located at about 30 meters deep, were detected in the paleontological site of “Cradle of Humankind“, northwest of Johannesburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, full of caves and pre-human fossils.
Contain the bones of the 'Homo naledi', distant cousins of man, with a brain the size of an orange, whose discovery in 2013 by the world-famous paleoanthropologist Lee Berger had already called into question certain theories of evolution.
The oldest tombs discovered so far, notably in the Near East and Kenya, date back to around 100.000 BC and contain the remains of 'Homo sapiens', a direct ancestor of man.
Burials discovered in South Africa date back 200.000 to 300.000 years.
During excavations that began in 2018, Lee Berger's team also found geometric symbols - lines, squares and crosses - traced on the walls of the tombs.
"This would mean that not only are Homo sapiens not the only ones to develop symbolic practices, they may not even have invented these behaviors."
Defends the 57-year-old paleoanthropologist supported by National Geographic.
Researchers generally associate the mastery of fire, engraving and painting with the large brain size of modern humans, as is typical of Cro-Magnon man.
Picture: © DR
