Till death do us part — unless we’re in the same grave.
In May 2021, archaeologists reported in the journal Nature they had discovered the remains of a baby in modern-day Kenya that appeared to be swaddled in cloth.
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The researchers say that this intentional human burial — the oldest known in Africa — reveals the ancient roots of our relationship to the dead.
Neanderthals, too, may have respected burial rituals, according to a 2020 paper in the journal Antiquity.
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Archaeologists studying Neanderthal burial sites in Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan found evidence of flowers that were placed alongside a deceased individual at the time of burial.
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The flowers were likely part of a ritual or carried symbolic meaning, the researchers say, since the flowers don’t serve an obvious practical purpose.
Archaeologists excavating graves in Northern China reported in 2021 that they’d found the remains of a couple wrapped in each other’s arms.
The female skeleton had a silver ring on her finger, which could represent the couple’s bond.
However, wedding bands weren’t a common symbol for marriage in the region at that time in history.
One famous example is the Lovers of Valdaro in Italy, which was thought to be a male and female couple. But a 2019 analysis found that the skeletons are both males.
Archaeologists found trinkets in the walls of an ancient Scottish roundhouse that may have been kept by friends and relatives after a loved one’s death.
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Dating back to the Iron Age (700 BCE — 500 AD), the structure held spoons and game pieces that would not normally be used as building materials.
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The researchers think the tokens could have been kept by friends and family to remind them of their loved ones who passed away.
Thousands of years ago, ancient humans buried their relatives lovingly — and their dogs.
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One analysis found that ancient peoples living in modern-day Illinois intentionally buried their pet dogs some 10,000 years ago.
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Sometimes, humans didn’t want to die without their animals.
A 2019 report in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports found that pet dogs belonging to Neolithic humans in modern-day Spain were sacrificed to be buried with their owners.