A team of researchers has uncovered the world's oldest known cremation pyre containing adult remains, dating back around 9,500 years to northern Malawi. The remarkably well-preserved site, which consists of two clusters of human bones, provides a unique glimpse into the lives and rituals of ancient hunter-gatherer communities.
Discovered in a rock shelter at the foot of Mount Hora, the pyre is believed to be around 5 feet tall and was built using considerable knowledge, skill, and coordination. The remains of an adult woman, estimated to be just under 1.5 meters tall, were found among the bones, with her skull missing but cut marks suggesting that some of her body parts were separated at the joints before being burned.
The researchers have hypothesized that the removal of body parts may have been part of a funerary ritual, possibly to serve as tokens for curation or reburial elsewhere. The team also found flakes and points from stone-knapping within the pyre, which could have been added during the funeral ritual.
While it is unclear why the woman was given such special treatment, the discovery suggests that life and death may have had a great deal of complexity in ancient tropical hunter-gatherer societies. Dr Jessica Cerezo-Román, lead researcher from the University of Oklahoma, notes that this challenges traditional stereotypes about these communities.
The findings also challenge previous assumptions about intentional cremations in Africa, with most burned human remains dating back 8,000 years or more not found in pyres. Prior to this discovery, the earliest confirmed intentional cremations in Africa only appeared around 3,500 years ago among pastoral Neolithic people.
This remarkable find sheds new light on the lives and rituals of our ancient ancestors and highlights the need for further research into these complex societies.
Discovered in a rock shelter at the foot of Mount Hora, the pyre is believed to be around 5 feet tall and was built using considerable knowledge, skill, and coordination. The remains of an adult woman, estimated to be just under 1.5 meters tall, were found among the bones, with her skull missing but cut marks suggesting that some of her body parts were separated at the joints before being burned.
The researchers have hypothesized that the removal of body parts may have been part of a funerary ritual, possibly to serve as tokens for curation or reburial elsewhere. The team also found flakes and points from stone-knapping within the pyre, which could have been added during the funeral ritual.
While it is unclear why the woman was given such special treatment, the discovery suggests that life and death may have had a great deal of complexity in ancient tropical hunter-gatherer societies. Dr Jessica Cerezo-Román, lead researcher from the University of Oklahoma, notes that this challenges traditional stereotypes about these communities.
The findings also challenge previous assumptions about intentional cremations in Africa, with most burned human remains dating back 8,000 years or more not found in pyres. Prior to this discovery, the earliest confirmed intentional cremations in Africa only appeared around 3,500 years ago among pastoral Neolithic people.
This remarkable find sheds new light on the lives and rituals of our ancient ancestors and highlights the need for further research into these complex societies.
They just found a 9,500 year old cremation pyre in Malawi with an adult woman's remains! 
It's like they're telling us that back then, life and death weren't as black or white as we think. I mean, why was she treated so differently? Was it because of some special ritual or ceremony? 
Like, what was life like back then? What kind of rituals did they have? So many questions! 
I mean, can you believe it? Ancient humans were still struggling with the whole cremation thing 9,500 years ago 
. Like, they just couldn't even figure out how to properly dispose of their dead bodies back then 
. And now we're supposed to be amazed by this "remarably well-preserved" site and its "unique glimpse into ancient lives" 
. I mean, seriously, who needs 5-foot tall pyres when you can just leave the body in a rock shelter? 
. Anyway, it's not like this changes anything or adds any new insights into human history... 
Are there more pyres waiting to be discovered that would change everything we thought we knew about human history?
. it's crazy to think that our ancient hunter-gatherer communities were already getting all fancy with their funerals, separating body parts and adding stone tools for good luck 
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. i'm excited to see where further research takes us and what new insights we can gain into these ancient societies 
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. We always think of them as nomadic and simple, but I guess that's not entirely true 
. It's cool to see that they had some level of sophistication and organization when it came to their funerals. Maybe we can learn something from the way they handled death and the afterlife? 
. Anyway, I'm hyped for more research on this topic - there's gotta be so much we don't know yet 
Was it a ritual thing? Did they do some sorta ancient funeral ceremony and use the remains as tokens or something? 
. The fact that they were separating body parts before burning them is super interesting too... like, what did they think it would do for the soul or something? 
, like we thought we knew what life was like in northern Malawi 9,500 yrs ago but nope, turns out they had some serious skills when it came to building pyres, i mean 5ft tall and all that jazz 
. but seriously, this changes everything we thought we knew about these ancient societies, it's not all just hunter-gatherers living off the land, there's more to it than that 
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. Can't wait for more research on this! 
they had this whole ritual thing goin on where they'd separate body parts and stuff before burnin em lol what a weird but also kinda cool way to do death 
i'm def intrigued by the discovery of all these flakes and points from stone-knapping within the pyre tho like what was the point of that? did they use it for some sorta burial or somethin? 
? 9,500 years ago, these hunter-gatherer communities were already pretty advanced, if you think about it - building pyres like this one shows they had skills and coordination to spare. The fact that the remains of a woman were treated with such care is wild - I mean, we're talking separation of body parts before burning 
. We need more research into these communities, for sure!
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. They think the lady who got special treatment might've been part of some kinda funerary ritual, wiv her body parts b4in burnd & taken as tokens or somethin 
. Its def challngs what we thought wot ppl in tropical hunter-gatherer societies did when they died 
. i mean, it's not like they were 'savage' or anything (ugh, don't even get me started on that word 
The more we learn about our ancient past, the more I'm convinced that there's so much more to human history than what we think we know... 
. The fact that they had such knowledge and skill to build something like that is mind-blowing, especially considering the technology they were using at the time