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Africa’s oldest cremation?
Archaeological investigations in the shadow of Mount Hora, in northern Malawi, have revealed the oldest evidence for human cremation yet found in Africa. The burial, which dates to c.9,500 years ago, was discovered at a rock-shelter site during excavations between 2016 and 2019. Analysis of the burned material revealed that this individual, probably a small adult female, was cremated on an exceptionally large pyre and that the fire may have reached temperatures of more than 500°C. This suggests that the flames were tended to and were probably refuelled. Cremation is exceptionally rare among hunter-gatherer societies, with the next earliest evidence for the practice in Africa dating to c.3,500 years ago, found among pastoral Neolithic herders in Kenya. The oldest known cremation anywhere, from the Xaasaa Na’ site in Alaska, dates to 11,500 years ago. The results were recently published in Science Advances (https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adz9554).
Ornate Zapotec tomb found
Archaeologists responding to a report of looting at the Cerro de la Cantera site in San Pablo Huitzo, Oaxaca, Mexico, have discovered an ornately decorated tomb associated with the Zapotec civilisation that thrived in this region for almost 1,500 years, roughly 500 BC-AD 900. This particular tomb is believed to date to the Late Classic period c.AD 600-900.
The crypt is reached through a shaft, and is built of limestone slabs and grey quarry stone covered in stucco. The doorway is flanked by two large jambs, one decorated with a male figure and the other with a female figure, each adorned with headdresses and ceremonial clothing. Inside the main burial chamber, the walls are decorated with a mural showing a procession of people carrying bags of copal (tree resin used as incense). It is hoped that ongoing analysis not only of the construction of the tomb, but also ceramics and bone found within the tomb, will provide a better understanding of funerary practices associated with Zapotec culture.
Oldest poison arrows found in South Africa
Analysis of quartz arrowheads, discovered in the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa, has found evidence of toxic organic compounds on their surfaces, suggesting that they may have been deliberately covered in poison to facilitate hunting. Dating to c.60,000 years ago, this would make them the oldest examples of poison arrows yet known. Five of the ten arrowheads found in the rock shelter were found to have traces of the toxic alkaloid buphanidrine; one also had traces of epibuphanisine. These compounds are found in plants from the Amaryllidaceae family, which are indigenous to southern Africa. In particular, the team believe that Boophone disticha, also known as gifbol, is the most likely source, as the bulbs from this plant have been used by local hunters for centuries. The full results were published in Science Advances (http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adz3281).
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Image: Marlize Lombard
