Oldest known burial site in Africa uncovered by archaeologists

Just over 78,000 years ago, a three-year-old child was laid to rest in a small pit at the entrance of Panga ya Saidi, a leafy cave located 15 kilometres from Kenya’s south-east coast.

They then gently placed the child’s body on its right side in the freshly dug pit, laying their head on a supportive pillow.

The mourners scattered soil collected from the nearby cave floor over the body, and the burial site was left undisturbed for thousands of years.

Now, an international team of archaeologists have discovered that the child’s remains represent the oldest known modern human burial in Africa.