Evidence of Possible 100,000-Year-Old Cremation Found in Ethiopia's Afar Rift

Archaeologists found evidence of what may be the world’s oldest documented cremation, dating back approximately 100,000 years, in Ethiopia’s Afar Rift. The discovery includes burnt bone fragments discovered in the sediment of the Faro Daba beds in the Dawaitoli Formation. These fragments are one of three Homo sapiens fossils at the site.

A new study detailing the findings was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on April 29, 2026. Erosion has been revealing previously buried Stone Age artifacts in the Faro Daba beds. Initial inspection of the burnt bone fragments revealed extensive cracking, charring, discoloration, and fragmentation, according to the study.

The evidence points toward an intentional cremation involving fire intensities exceeding what is observed in most bushfires, the study stated. However, the study urged caution regarding the cremation theory due to extensive evidence of intensive burning at the archaeological locality. One of the other two Homo sapiens fossils dates back 100,000 years.

That fossil is the most complete adult human skeleton from the African Middle Stone Age, belonging to a large-bodied male. The remains bear evidence of termite damage. There is no clear indication of scavenging on the most complete skeleton.

The third skeletal fossil contains ancient pitting, tooth scores, and fractures indicating scavenging by large predators around the time of death. Thousands of stone tools were discovered at the site. Pieces of charcoal were also found there.

Fossilized bones of large rodents, monkeys, hoofed-animals, carnivores, and bovids were discovered at the site. No butchery-related or unambiguously humanly induced bone modifications were found, according to the study. Only rodent gnawing, insect, and carnivore damage expected in such depositional settings were observed.

The researchers concluded that continued integration of ongoing actualistic investigations of the modern Middle Awash geology and biology will contextualize the geological, paleobiological, and archaeological traces at Halibee. Findings from the Middle Pleistocene evidence lying directly below the Halibee member will contribute to understanding how behaviors, anatomies, and environments of the Middle Awash inhabitants changed across deep time, the researchers stated.