In a cave near the coast of Kenya lies the body of a child dating back 78,000 years. The discovery is the oldest known human burial site and sheds new light on the emotional life of early man. Amaze Lab’s Johana Restrepo has more.
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00:00In a cave near the coast of Kenya lies the body of a child dating back 78,000 years.
00:10The discovery is the oldest known human burial site and sheds new light on the emotional
00:15life of early man.
00:17The head of archaeology for Kenya's museums pointed out that for a very long time, researchers
00:23only had bits and pieces about the technology and the environment of Homo sapiens.
00:28We are beginning to understand now these people having some emotional attachments to
00:34their dead.
00:35According to Reuters, the upper part of the body was carefully wrapped in shroud and the
00:40head was resting on a pillow.
00:42The body was placed in a shallow grave.
00:45Dental analysis revealed that the child was two to three years old and the remains of
00:49various antelope species and other prey showed that the child was part of a hunter-gatherer
00:55culture.
00:56The location of the burial site shows that early Homo sapiens lived in different parts
01:01of what is now Kenya, which contradicts a belief that early humans only settled in the
01:06Great Rift Valley.