Over a decade of research leads to finding the oldest known human burial in Africa

Calgary, Alberta – University of Calgary researcher Dr. Julio Mercader is part of an international team of scientists who have found Africa’s oldest human burial. Found in Panga ya Saidi, a cave site in Kenya’s coastal rainforest, scientists unearthed a pit grave with the remains of a three-year-old child buried 78,000 years ago, directly under the sheltered overhang of the cave. This study, published in Nature, demonstrates early complex social behaviours in Homo sapiens.

This finding at the Panga ya Saidi cave site in Kenya has allowed us to study some of the earliest signs of modern human behaviour. The remains of this child, nicknamed ‘Mtoto’, show how Middle Stone Age populations interacted with the dead and their natural environment, and, in turn, the ways in which caves and rainforests shaped ancient rituals.

-Dr. Julio Mercader, professor, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary

More than 10 years ago, excavations began in Panga ya Saidi as a collaboration that included scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Jena, Germany), the National Museums of Kenya (Nairobi) and UCalgary, among many other collaborators. In 2013, portions of the child’s bones were initially found during excavations at the site, but it wasn’t until 2017 that the small pit containing the remains was fully exposed. Ongoing excavations have established Panga ya Saidi as a critical site that offers the earliest record of early human cultural, technological and symbolic activities known to-date.

During analysis of the fossil remains at the National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH) in Burgos, Spain, it was revealed that two teeth belonged to a two-and-a-half to three-year-old human child. The child was eventually nicknamed ‘Mtoto’, which translates to ‘child’ in Swahili.

Not only have we found the earliest African burial that we know of, but discovering Mtoto has let us reconstruct the environment that Middle Stone Age populations lived in. Our study shows a deep connection between humans and rainforests. It’s been a privilege and rare opportunity to study some of the earliest example of ideational behaviour in Africa.

-Dr. Julio Mercader, professor, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary

The biochemical analysis of bones and the geological study of burial sediments by multiple experts confirmed that the body was rapidly covered after burial, and that decomposition took place in situ – meaning that Mtoto was intentionally buried shortly after death. The child was laid on its side, with knees drawn toward the chest. The orientation and bone angles suggest the body was shrouded. The human remains were also found alongside stone tools belonging to the African Middle Stone Age, a distinct type of technology that is linked to our species.

“The corpse was probably wrapped with plant material such as the large-leafed false banana plant, Ensete, common in East Africa,” says Professor Mercader. “The position and collapsed angle of the head indicate a pillow was placed under the child’s head.”

The Mercader lab is currently analysing more sediment samples to extract further plant silica and help reconstruct ecological fluctuations at Panga ya Saidi. Currently, the emphasis is on the last 20,000 years and cultural manifestations that belong to the Later Stone Age.

“We want to understand the impact climate change had on the forest itself and on human technology,” says Mercader.

Julio Mercader is a professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology (Faculty of Arts). He is a former Canada Research Chair and currently appointed as a research associate with the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Germany) and the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution (Spain).

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