Oldest known cremation in Africa poses 9,500
The Conversation••world
Key Points:
- Researchers have discovered the earliest evidence of adult pyre cremation in Africa, dating back about 9,500 years, at the Hora 1 archaeological site in northern Malawi.
- The cremated remains belong to a small adult woman who was burned in a large, carefully maintained fire, indicating a complex mortuary ritual involving multiple people.
- Forensic analysis revealed that the body was burned with flesh still on it, and stone tools were used to aid in flesh removal, while the absence of the skull suggests possible ritual decapitation.
- The site shows repeated use for fires over centuries, highlighting the location's ongoing significance in community memory and ritual practice.
- This discovery challenges previous assumptions that hunter-gatherers in Africa did
