The oldest toddler in the world
Evan Garibay
September 3, 2021
IHSS Roddy
The oldest toddler in the world
Over 78,000 years ago a small child who scientists have named Mtoto (‘child’ in Swahili) was found in a specially dug grave now recognized as the oldest known human burial in Africa. Scientists had never discovered a burial site that dated back so far, so in turn, they dubbed Mtoto as the placeholder of the world’s oldest grave. Scientists and anthropologists worked together to discover that this was not only a burial but also a funeral. The skeleton was adorned with markings that could only be distinguished as tribal streaks. The body of Mtoto was laid out in fetal position and even provided with some type of pillow. The care humans took in burying this child suggests that they attached some deeper meaning to the event beyond the need to dispose of a lifeless body. One point that’s even more interesting about the discovery is the fact that the infant actually still had teeth intact in the mandibles, which were found, cleaned, and examined. The the way Mtoto was buried in an emotional way, not just to dispose of a body goes to show that they intended to bury her in a way now known as a funeral.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientists-discover-oldest-known-human-grave-africa-180977659/
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