Burned bones 100,000 years old at famed Afar Rift may be the oldest cremation on Earth

Archaeologists in Ethiopia’s Afar Rift report burned human bones dating to about 100,000 years ago.

The bones were found with stone tools and animal remains at an undisturbed site near flood-prone water sources.

Researchers say the evidence may point to intentional cremation and repeated short-term use of the area by early Homo sapiens.

If confirmed, it would push the earliest known human cremation far earlier than previous evidence, including Lake Mungo in Australia.