Researchers have found the oldest cemetery in the world! The amazing thing is that they are not made by humans

Paleontologists in South Africa have discovered the oldest known cemetery in the world. It is fascinating that there are not humans buried there, but members of our related species Homo naledi.
These ancient relatives of man had smaller brains than we do. The species was discovered in 2013 at the Rising Star Cave complex in the Gauteng province of South Africa.

They were much smaller than today’s man, with an average height of 1.5 meters and a weight of about 45 kilograms, and they lived 200 thousand years ago.

The research in which this cemetery was discovered was led by the famous paleoanthropologist Lee Berger.

The cemetery was discovered in a cave system near Johannesburg. It is fascinating that it shows the complex behavior of ancient hominids, such as the burial of the dead.

This image shows two burial features discovered in the Dinaledi Chamber in Rising Star Cave. One body belonged to an adult Homo naledi, and the other to a juvenile. Lee Berger

They marked the graves
Berger and his team found several specimens of Homo naledi buried in the cave, and research shows that the holes were deliberately dug to bury the bodies. In addition, geometric shapes indicating symbolic practices have been discovered on the smooth surfaces of the cave, further indicating complex cognitive behavior.

This discovery is significant because it overturns the theory that only large-brained hominids, such as Homo sapiens, had the capacity for ritual and symbolic activities. Many scientists, including Carol Ward of the University of Missouri, believe that these findings, if confirmed, could significantly change our understanding of human evolution.

Although Berger’s previous findings are controversial, this new research shows that burial practices and art may have a much more complex history than previously thought.