Archaeologists have unearthed one of the world’s oldest burial sites in Tinshemet Cave, central Israel, revealing 100,000-year-old human remains arranged in pits, shedding light on the origins of burial rituals. Published in Nature Human Behaviour, the findings include five early human remains, with two full skeletons and three isolated skulls, alongside ritual objects like basalt pebbles, animal bones, and ochre fragments sourced from distant regions.

Yossi Zaidner, excavation co-director and Hebrew University professor, called the intentional fetal-position burials and ceremonial objects a “revolutionary innovation” for early humans. The site, from the Middle Palaeolithic era (250,000–30,000 years ago), preserved remains exceptionally well due to ash from ritual fires and Israel’s limestone-rich environment. One skeleton showed interwoven fingers, hands clasped beneath the head.

The discoveries bolster earlier finds from northern Israel’s Skhul and Qafzeh caves, confirming widespread burial practices around 100,000 years ago. Tinshemet’s evidence of ochre and ornaments suggests early humans engaged in complex spiritual behaviors, possibly marking group identity. The site, a key location for studying human evolution, may reveal interactions between Neanderthals, Homo sapiens, and other subgroups in ancient Israel.

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