The First Signs of Human Cremation May Date Back 100,000 Years

100,000-year-old human remains could be the world's oldest cremation

Archaeologists might have just discovered the world’s earliest known human cremation in the Afar Rift, Ethiopia—dating back 60,000 years older than the previous record-holder! Previously, the oldest cremated human remains were thought to have come from Lake Mungo, Australia, dating back 40,000 years, suggesting just how groundbreaking the Afar Rift discovery is. For context, even the earliest intentional burial ever found is only 78,000 years ol…

The first signs of human cremation may date back 100,000 years

The latest discoveries by an international research team, which includes Academy Research Fellow Ferhat Kaya from the University of Oulu, Finland, offer a detailed view of how early humans lived, moved, and adapted to their environment 100,000 years ago. The group has been studying the Afar Rift since 1981. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

100,000-year-old Homo sapiens bones from Ethiopia may preserve earliest evidence of human cremation | Archaeology News Online Magazine

Researchers studying Ethiopia’s Afar Rift have reported what could be the oldest known evidence of human cremation. The finding comes from sediments about 100,000 years old in the Middle Awash region, an area with one of Africa’s richest records of early Homo sapiens life. The study focused on the Faro Daba beds in the lower […]