The discovery, made at one of the best-preserved open-air sites of early Homo sapiens communities, includes bones burned at high temperatures alongside evidence of predation and sudden burial.
An international research team, which includes Ferhat Kaya, a researcher at the Academy of Finland at the University of Oulu, has discovered what could be the earliest evidence of human cremation. The findings were made in the Afar Rift in Ethiopia, a region recognized for hosting one of the best-preserved open-air archaeological concentrations corresponding to the earliest Homo sapiens communities.
Research in this area has been ongoing since 1981, and the new data offer a detailed view of how early humans lived, moved, and adapted to their environment 100,000 years ago.
Among the significant fossils found in the area are remains of Homo sapiens individuals, some of which show bones that had been exposed to high temperatures. This phenomenon, according to the researchers, could indicate the practice of cremation and, if confirmed, would represent the oldest known evidence of this funerary rite among humans.
However, the same bone remains also showed predator bite marks and signs of having undergone sudden burial, which adds a layer of complexity to interpreting the circumstances of their death and subsequent treatment.
The study published by the team emphasizes that local hydrological factors—particularly the flood cycles of the ancient Awash River—had a more decisive influence on the lives of these humans than global climate fluctuations. This conclusion is supported by the analysis of thousands of stone tools documented at the site, which indicate that human groups repeatedly returned to this area for short periods, taking advantage of a seasonal floodplain.
Hellbound and Down 