Archaeologists in Siberia discovered the bodies of a mother and her twins who died 7,700 years ago - possibly the earliest known childbirth-related death, according to Live Science via Yahoo.
The grave is part of a prehistoric cemetery of a hunter-gatherer society in Irkutsk, a Russian city along the south side of Lake Baikal. Lokomotiv, as the cemetery is known, was discovered during the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1897. It has not been fully excavated due to city development that partially covers the site.
An archaeologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, Angela Lieverse, made the discovery of the mother and children in 2012 while examining the bones in storage at the Irkutsk State University. Lieverse realized that there were duplicate bones in the fetal remains.
"Within 5 minutes, I said to my colleague, 'Oh my gosh; these are twins,'" Lieverse told Live Science.
Judging by the position of the babies, it appeared that twin A was breech (feet first through the birth canal) and blocked the path of twin B.
"It might be a bit circumstantial, but I think it's quite strong," Lieverse told Live Science. Twin birth is rarely documented in archaeology, even when remains are discovered in the same grave. Lieverse said that even with "impeccably preserved DNA," knowing if the remains belonged to siblings or cousins would be difficult.
A full report can be found in the journal Antiquity.
