From Newsgroup: sci.anthropology.paleo


https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/oldest-burial-site-tinshemet-cave-b2795046.html

Archaeologists think they have found one of the
worldrCOs oldest burial sites in a cave in central
Israel.

The carefully arranged remains of early humans,
dating back some 100,000 years, have been
discovered in pits.

The find at Tinshemet Cave, which was detailed in
an academic journal earlier this year, builds on
previous discoveries in the Middle East country
and adds to a growing understanding of the
origins of human burial.

Of particular interest are the objects found
alongside the remains, such as basalt pebbles,
animal remains, or fragments of ochre, a reddish
pigment.
...
Archaeologists working at Tinshemet since 2016
have discovered the remains of five early humans,
which have been dated, using various technologies,
to around 110,000 to 100,000 years ago.

The skeletons were found in pits and carefully
arranged in a foetal position, which is known as
a burial position.

These objects, some sourced from hundreds of
kilometres away, had no known practical use for
daily life, so experts believe they were part of
rituals meant to honour the dead.
...


https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02110-y
Evidence from Tinshemet Cave in Israel suggests
behavioural uniformity across Homo groups in the
Levantine mid-Middle Palaeolithic circa
130,000rCo80,000 years ago

"The characteristics of the ochre allow us to
infer at least four different sources including
sandstones (with closest available source as far
as the Galilee in the north, at least 60rCo80rCekm
from the site), limestone and iron-rich
formations possibly as far as the central Negev

100rCekm to the south). The exploitation of

distant sources suggests that great efforts were
invested to obtain these materials, hinting at
the importance of ochre in the human activities
at the site."
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