CHILD BURIAL IS AFRICA’S OLDEST
A prehistoric grave found in Kenya eight years ago has been confirmed as Africa’s earliest known human burial. First discovered inside the Panga ya Saidi cave complex in 2013, analysis of the remains has concluded they belonged to a two or three-year-old child who died around 76,000 BC. Since nicknamed ‘Mtoto’ by archaeologists – the Swahili word for ‘child’ – the infant was wrapped in a shroud, with a pillow or support placed under their head. Until the discovery, early burials had been a missing part of the human story in Africa.