Overview

• Archaeologists have uncovered one of the world’s oldest intentional burial sites at Tinshemet Cave in central Israel, with remains dating to around 100,000 years ago.
• Five individuals were interred in fetal positions alongside basalt pebbles, red ochre fragments and animal remains.
• Many ritual items were transported from sources hundreds of kilometers away, indicating long-distance connections among Paleolithic groups.
• Exceptional preservation under ash-rich sediment and acidic limestone has kept bones and artifacts intact, with excavations using hand chisels and pen-sized pneumatic drills since 2016.
• Teams are applying detailed stratigraphic analysis and radiometric dating to narrow the burial age range and map the sequence of interments.