Archaeologists in Kenya, Africa, excavated the remains of a small boy about 3 years old buried in the oldest burial pit ever discovered.
Scientists have named the younger Mtoto, which means “the boy” in Swahili. (Rights reserved by Fernando Fueyo)
Photo: FERNANDO FUEYO / copyright
The discovery of the oldest burial pit in Africa offers a semblance of human grief: the loss of a child makes 78. 000 years.
The funeral grave of a 3-year-old boy from the Mesolithic -or Middle Ages of the stone- was found in a cave in Kenya.
In an article published in the specialized journal Nature , the researchers who studied the fragile and ancient remains described how the child’s head appeared to have been placed so On a pillow.
Scientists gave it the name of Mtoto , which means “the boy” in the Swahili language.
The researchers covered everything in plaster the funeral site to preserve the configuration of the bones. (All rights reserved by Jorge González / Elena Santos)
The international team of archaeologists carefully plastered the entire burial pit in order to preserve the configuration of the remaining bone fragments. This allowed them to transport the body without risk to a laboratory to study it in detail.
“It was like digging a shadow,” said Professor María Martinón Torres, director of the National Center for Research on Human Evolution of Spain (CENIEH).
” , we did not know that we were carrying a child in our arms, “he told the BBC Inside Science program.
The scientists were able to study the teeth to confirm that it was of the small body of a human minor – between 2 and 3 years of age. Scans revealed that the body had been placed in a fetal position.
And the bones had been manipulated in a way that suggests it was wrapped tightly before burial, with , which later broke down.
Mtoto was buried inside the cave, where the community to who belonged would have lived ago 78. 000 years. (All rights reserved by Mohammad Javad Shoaee)
“We believe that the child was wrapped in a shroud made of leaves or animal skin – as if they had put him to sleep,” explained Professor Martinón Torres.
“There is so much delicacy and intention that it really expresses the feelings of the group towards the minor.”
Later examinations of the size and shape of the bone fragments led the team to conclude that Mtoto was most likely a male .
“They buried him in a cave -where those people he lived, ”said Martinón Torres. “All this behavior meant something, maybe pity, maybe not wanting to let it go.”
Africa is considered the cradle of modern humanity, but Among all the evidence found for primitive tool use and communal life, scientists say that burials were piece that was missing in the history of human evolution on that continent.
Reconstruction on of the original position of the minor’s remains as discovered. (All rights reserved by Jorge González / Elena Santos)
“The next oldest tomb in Africa has about 74. 000 years, ”explained Dr. Louise Humphrey of the Natural History Museum in London. “It is striking that was also a minor, but it was badly excavated a few years ago 50 years, so we don’t know much about it. ”
“ There is definitely a sense of personal loss here, ”he added. “It is evidence of a people that had a more symbolic representation of the world around them.”
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The researchers covered everything in plaster the funeral site to preserve the configuration of the bones. (All rights reserved by Jorge González / Elena Santos) 
