History of Cemeteries

The concept of honoring the deceased with designated burial grounds dates back thousands of years. From the elaborate mausoleums of ancient civilizations to the simple mounds of prehistoric societies, cemeteries have always served as a testament to our inherent need to memorialise and remember the departed. Across cultures and continents, burial practices have varied, reflecting the values, beliefs, and rituals of the people who laid their loved ones to rest. It is estimated that the first burials occurred almost 100,000 years ago. The 3-year-old child's remains, which were discovered in Kenya's Panga ya Saidi cave 78,000 years ago, show signs of burial, including the digging of a pit, the body's placement in the fetal position, and the quick covering of the corpse.

 

In the past, the majority of burials included items that alluded to afterlife belief. In a cave at Qafzeh, Israel, 71 pieces of red ocher and stone tools with ocher stains were discovered alongside the remains of up to 15 modern humans (Homo sapiens). Ocher was discovered close to the bones, indicating that it was used in a ritual. Thermoluminescence (TL) dating of the lower Terrace layers (XVII to XXIII) revealed a mean age of 92,000 5,000 with a range of 82.4 7.7 Ka to 109 9.9 Ka.

 

The 'Groge des Pigeons' cave, which is located outside the Moroccan city of Taforalt and contains about 34 Iberomaurusian skeletons from the Later Stone Age, or roughly 15,000 years ago, is the oldest known human burial site. Since its discovery in 1908, a number of continuing excavations have allowed experts to learn more about the existence of those individuals. In order to learn more about ancient archaeological sites, people who lived during the Patheolitic era, and some of the Patheolithic artefacts that have survived, DNA was extracted from the bones of some of the skeletons and studied.