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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

ʿUyun Al-Hammam

Uyun al-Hammam is a prehistoric burial site in Jordan. It is the earliest known formal burial site in the Middle East, and is possibly the oldest in the world. Remains at the 16,500-year-old burial site, located in Wadi Ziqlab, were first discovered in 2000.

The Natufian culture occupied the Levant, and had interred a red fox together with a human in this site dated 17,700–14,750 YBP. The remains were buried in such a manner as to suggest that prehistoric humans in that locale may have kept foxes as companion animals, in a similar way to dogs. The find provides information on the earliest burial practices of ancient humans.

References

  1. ^ MSNBC
  2. ^ Maher, Lisa A; Stock, Jay; Finney, Sarah; Heywood, James J. N; Miracle, Preston T; Banning, Edward B (2011). "A Unique Human-Fox Burial from a Pre-Natufian Cemetery in the Levant (Jordan)". PLOS ONE. 6 (1): e15815. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...615815M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015815. PMC 3027631. PMID 21298094.