% pubman genre = article
@article{item_3320251,
title = {{Earliest known human burial in Africa}},
author = {Martin{\'o}n-Torres, Mar{\'\i}a and d{\textquoteright}Errico, Francesco and Santos, Elena and {\'A}lvaro Gallo, Ana and Amano, Noel and Archer, William and Armitage, Simon J. and Arsuaga, Juan Luis and de Castro, Berm{\'u}dez and Mar{\'\i}a, Jos{\'e} and Blinkhorn, James and Crowther, Alison and Douka, Katerina and Dubernet, St{\'e}phan and Faulkner, Patrick and Fern{\'a}ndez-Col{\'o}n, Pilar and Kourampas, Nikos and Gonz{\'a}lez Garc{\'\i}a, Jorge and Larreina, David and Le Bourdonnec, Fran{\c{c}}ois-Xavier and MacLeod, George and Mart{\'\i}n-Franc{\'e}s, Laura and Massilani, Diyendo and Mercader, Julio and Miller, Jennifer M. and Ndiema, Emmanuel and Notario, Bel{\'e}n and Pitarch Mart{\'\i}, Africa and Prendergast, Mary E. and Queffelec, Alain and Rigaud, Solange and Roberts, Patrick and Shoaee, Mohammad Javad and Shipton, Ceri and Simpson, Ian and Boivin, Nicole and Petraglia, Michael D.},
language = {eng},
issn = {0028-0836},
doi = {10.1038/s41586-021-03457-8},
publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
address = {London},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-05-06},
abstract = {{The origin and evolution of hominin mortuary practices are topics of intense interest and debate1{\textendash}3. Human burials dated to the Middle Stone Age (MSA) are exceedingly rare in Africa and unknown in East Africa1{\textendash}6. Here we describe the partial skeleton of a roughly 2.5- to 3.0-year-old child dating to 78.3 $\pm$ 4.1 thousand years ago, which was recovered in the MSA layers of Panga ya Saidi (PYS), a cave site in the tropical upland coast of Kenya7,8. Recent excavations have revealed a pit feature containing a child in a flexed position. Geochemical, granulometric and micromorphological analyses of the burial pit content and encasing archaeological layers indicate that the pit was deliberately excavated. Taphonomical evidence, such as the strict articulation or good anatomical association of the skeletal elements and histological evidence of putrefaction, support the in-place decomposition of the fresh body. The presence of little or no displacement of the unstable joints during decomposition points to an interment in a filled space (grave earth), making the PYS finding the oldest known human burial in Africa. The morphological assessment of the partial skeleton is consistent with its assignment to Homo sapiens, although the preservation of some primitive features in the dentition supports increasing evidence for non-gradual assembly of modern traits during the emergence of our species. The PYS burial sheds light on how MSA populations interacted with the dead.}},
contents = {Primary and intentional deposit Burial versus funerary caching Taxonomic assessment Implications for human cultural evolution Online content},
journal = {{Nature}},
volume = {593},
number = {7857},
pages = {95--100},
}