lunes, 30 de septiembre de 2013

Philippines. Ancient human remains in Palawan reveal rare ritual burial

Digitally reconstructed skull in Context 758. Image from International Journal of Osteoarcheology
9,000 years ago, in El Nido, Palawan, a woman was buried in a cave after she was disposed of in an elaborate and bizarre ritual.

The bones of this woman were defleshed and crushed. They were burned and put in a small box before she was put in her final resting place.
 
A group of scientists have since found her remains: well-preserved fragments of bones, likely of a young or middle-aged woman, uncovered underneath the cave of Ille in the Dewil Valley, in El Nido. Direct dating showed that her bones are between 9,000 to 9,400 years old. 
 
A study of her remains was recently published in the International Journal of Osteoarcheology by Myra Lara and Victor Paz of the Archaeological Studies Program of the University of the Philippines – Diliman; H. Lewis of the School of Archaeology of the University College Dublin; and W. Solheim II of the Solheim Foundation.

According to the authors, the burial "demonstrate(s) a complex ritualistic treatment" that "has not (yet) been recorded in Southeast Asia." [...] gmanetwork.com

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