Oldest-Ever Discovery Reveals Secrets of Ritual Cremation

A nearly 10,000-year-old pyre discovered in Africa has revealed the country’s oldest cremation.

In a study published in the journal Scientific Advances, an international team of scholars from Africa, Europe, and the United States has identified Africa’s oldest known intentional human cremation, dramatically expanding what archaeologists know about early hunter-gatherer practices. The cremation site was discovered at Hora 1, a site located beneath a rock shelter at the base of Mount Hora in northern Malawi...