Have researchers discovered the oldest cemetery?

According to a series of papers not yet examined by other scientists, these are the “oldest documented burials” in the history of the great apes. According to information published in the journal eLife, the burials are “at least 100,000 years older” than those of the genus Homo sapiens previously found in the Middle East and Africa. These were about 100,000 years old.

The cemeteries found by Berger and his colleagues in the UNESCO World Heritage “Cradle of Mankind” would therefore date from a time of at least 200,000 years before the beginning of our era.

Findings would call evolutionary history into question
The finds question previous understandings of human evolution, according to which only the development of larger brains enabled complex activities such as burying the dead. Homo naledi is considered the link between great apes and modern humans.

He had a brain the size of an orange and was about five feet tall, could use tools, and walked upright on two legs. The discovery of this species eight years ago turned the idea of ​​a linear human evolutionary history on its head.

Oval holes with human remains
The current finds are oval holes that the scientists say were deliberately dug and then filled in to cover the bodies. At least five specimens were found in it.

Berger is controversial in the scientific community. The 57-year-old has been accused of a lack of scientific rigor and a tendency to jump to conclusions. So he was criticized for granting homo naledi abilities for which his brain was deemed too small.

In the new study, Berger again rejects the idea that “everything is related to this big brain.” “We’re about to tell the world this isn’t true.”