Yale Paleoarchaeology Lab
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Yale Paleoarchaeology Lab
@yalepaleoarch.bsky.social
The Paleoarchaeology Laboratory at Yale University is a research facility led by Dr. Jessica Thompson, and specializing in the archaeology of our origins.
A very nice write up of not just this discovery, but the entire project!

www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/s...
Oldest known cremation pyre in Africa reveals mysterious woman who lived 9,500 years ago | CNN
The oldest known cremation pyre in Africa is shedding light on the complex funeral rites of ancient hunter-gatherers 9,500 years ago.
www.cnn.com
January 6, 2026 at 8:12 PM
The truth is no one actually knows how old the rock art really is. But it still calls at you:

“Do not forget we were here. We lived here. We made meaning here. Our stories mattered.”

youtu.be/iZDwhiCYxUM?...
Stone Age rock art in Malawi receives conservation and tourism boost
YouTube video by AP Archive
youtu.be
January 5, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Direct our link to our new paper on the oldest cremation pyre in Africa:

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Earliest evidence for intentional cremation of human remains in Africa
The world’s oldest in situ adult funeral pyre (~9500 years old) shows complex mortuary behaviors among ancient African foragers.
www.science.org
January 3, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Time to start rebuilding our social network after what has been a tough year. And what better way to do it than to share our latest research?

Thanks to a great team who worked on this for more than a decade, it is finally out!

theconversation.com/oldest-known...
Oldest known cremation in Africa poses 9,500-year-old mystery about Stone Age hunter-gatherers
An ancient cremation would have been a community spectacle in a place returned to and reignited over many generations. What was behind this unexpected funeral ritual?
theconversation.com
January 3, 2026 at 4:12 PM