A 9,500-year-old pyre in Malawi is believed to be the world's oldest containing adult remains. The discovery, made in a rock shelter near Mount Hora, has provided new insights into the lives of ancient hunter-gatherer communities.
The pyre, which dates back to around 16,000 years ago, was found to contain 170 individual human bone fragments from an adult woman estimated to be about 5ft tall. However, her skull is missing and some bones show signs of being separated at the joints before being burned.
Researchers believe that body parts may have been removed as part of a funerary ritual, possibly to be carried as tokens by mourners. The idea is supported by findings of small collections of bones from different individuals buried at the site over time.
The discovery has significant implications for our understanding of human culture and social dynamics in prehistoric Africa. It suggests that ancient hunter-gatherers may have had more complex social structures than previously thought, with different people receiving varying levels of respect or treatment after death.
While it's unclear why one woman was given such special attention, researchers believe that the discovery could challenge existing stereotypes about tropical hunter-gatherer societies. The finding has been hailed as a significant contribution to our understanding of human history and culture.
The study's findings have been published in the journal Science Advances, providing new insights into the lives of ancient people and shedding light on the complexities of their social structures and cultural practices.
The pyre, which dates back to around 16,000 years ago, was found to contain 170 individual human bone fragments from an adult woman estimated to be about 5ft tall. However, her skull is missing and some bones show signs of being separated at the joints before being burned.
Researchers believe that body parts may have been removed as part of a funerary ritual, possibly to be carried as tokens by mourners. The idea is supported by findings of small collections of bones from different individuals buried at the site over time.
The discovery has significant implications for our understanding of human culture and social dynamics in prehistoric Africa. It suggests that ancient hunter-gatherers may have had more complex social structures than previously thought, with different people receiving varying levels of respect or treatment after death.
While it's unclear why one woman was given such special attention, researchers believe that the discovery could challenge existing stereotypes about tropical hunter-gatherer societies. The finding has been hailed as a significant contribution to our understanding of human history and culture.
The study's findings have been published in the journal Science Advances, providing new insights into the lives of ancient people and shedding light on the complexities of their social structures and cultural practices.
... I mean, 9,500 years old is CRAZY talk! And now they're saying that she might have been treated like royalty? 
I love how scientists are finding ways to challenge our preconceived notions about ancient societies. I think it's so cool that we can learn from the past and try to understand each other better.
Like, did people barter bones for stuff? That's wild. And it makes me wonder, were there other pyres around the same time, maybe even in different parts of Africa?
...
9k years old! Can you even imagine what life was like back then? Like, no smartphones, no video games, just pure survival mode 
. But I'm intrigued by this pyre thingy. It's wild to think that ancient people were already dealing with stuff like body parts being separated from the skull 
. I'm not sure if I'd wanna be an archaeologist, but this discovery is definitely making me appreciate our own weird human history more 
It makes you wonder what else we don't know about our past and how it could change our understanding of human history.
A 9k y/o pyre is like, old school 
! Imagine a girl, no skull, separate bones 
or something? 
! 9,500 years ago, who would've thought our ancestors were dealing with all that complexity? 
I mean, I love how we're learning more about the lives of these ancient hunter-gatherer communities. They're not just cavemen and cavewomen anymore, they had social dynamics, rituals... it's wild! 
Or was it just a status thing? I'm intrigued by this discovery and all the new questions it raises 
!
I'm fascinated by this discovery! The fact that someone was treated like royalty after death is wild, considering how we view hunter-gatherer societies today 
. I'm also intrigued by how this changes our understanding of ancient cultures in Africa - we always thought they were pretty straightforward, but it looks like there was a lot more nuance at play 
.
Anyway, this is major history stuff! I wish I could see the actual bones, that'd be so cool. 
. We tend to think of them as being super primitive or uncivilized, but I guess that's not always true. It's amazing to see how much we can learn from ancient cultures and how they were so ahead of their time.
idk why one woman was given so much respect tho, maybe it was cuz she was like a leader or somethin? 
this study is def a game changer for our understanding of human culture & social dynamics in prehistoric africa