Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered ancient bones that offer a glimpse into how some funerals might have been carried out in the region.
According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History, experts uncovered the skeletons in Pozo de Ibarra while preparing a site for a sewage-related construction project.
Archaeologists Found 1,500-Year-Old Bones
According to reports, at least seven intact skulls were found at the location and showed evidence of "cranial modification," which the INAH speculated might have been done for aesthetic reasons. The INAH said the bones were arranged to suggest an intentional structure to the grave site.
"It is a funerary system composed of a primary burial, that is, the skeleton maintains the anatomical relationship, accompanied by a concentration of human bone remains deposited without an anatomical relationship, which has a particular arrangement," the INAH said in a statement.
Long bones like ulnae, tibias, rays, and femurs were positioned in a specific spot. Several skulls were also intentionally placed on top of one another and were set in a different portion of the grave site.
Although the age of the bones has not yet been confirmed, experts speculate that they could be up to 1,500 years old.
The INAH claimed that the discovery is possibly related to the Amapa cultural phase (500-800/850 AD) because ceramic vessels and anthropomorphic figurines from that period were also recovered. The group praised the discovery for its broader archaeological implications and the site's quality.
Furthermore, they said that the archaeological find is exceptional since there are no precedents for this type of burial in other nearby sites, and it enriches the understanding of funerary practices in the region. They also claimed that the discovery encourages collaboration between the different INAH bodies to protect, research, conserve, and disseminate heritage.
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45,000-Year-Old Bones Reveal Earliest Human Ancestors
According to NBC News, researchers found a pit of bones inside a cave beneath a medieval German castle that holds the key to understanding the history of first humans.
The remains that were buried beneath soil layers in the collapsed cave contained 13 bones of early humans who perished 45,000 years ago, as well as genetic material from hyenas and cave bears.
The discoveries, described in three papers published on Thursday in Nature and Nature Ecology & Evolution journals, revealed that early humans traveled further north earlier than scientists had realized. They were also able to make spear-shaped tools, and they had the means to survive in temperatures far colder than the climate today.
Elena Zavala, a forensic geneticist and paleoanthropologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who co-authored the three studies, said that they know Neantherdals and humans quite definitively had a large overlap because of the site's age and location. She added that the species likely spent hundreds or thousands of years roaming the same area.
