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Flowers-for-dead tradition dates back 13,000 years
The remains of flowers that were found in Stone Age Natufian graves has provided the latest evidence that the colourful and fragrant blooms have been there at the funerals for a long time.
Washington: The remains of flowers that were found in Stone Age Natufian graves has provided the latest evidence that the colourful and fragrant blooms have been there at the funerals for a long time.
Daniel Nadel from the University of Haifa in Israel said that before there were only a few isolated burials but some Natufian sites have had more than 100 skeletons in one area, which gave the world the first glimpse of a cemetery, Discovery News reported. Nadel and his colleagues found four graves in Raqefet cave in the Haifa district, which were dated to 13,700 - 11,700 years back.
They found that the graves were lined with flowers; they also identified sages and figworts` imprints in the mud around the bodies - the earliest proof of plants being linked with funerals.
They believe that the plants were laid out beneath and under the bodies of the dead, and were put in a layer thick which was enough to prevent other objects in the grave from leaving their own imprints in the mud.
ANI
Daniel Nadel from the University of Haifa in Israel said that before there were only a few isolated burials but some Natufian sites have had more than 100 skeletons in one area, which gave the world the first glimpse of a cemetery, Discovery News reported. Nadel and his colleagues found four graves in Raqefet cave in the Haifa district, which were dated to 13,700 - 11,700 years back.
They found that the graves were lined with flowers; they also identified sages and figworts` imprints in the mud around the bodies - the earliest proof of plants being linked with funerals.
They believe that the plants were laid out beneath and under the bodies of the dead, and were put in a layer thick which was enough to prevent other objects in the grave from leaving their own imprints in the mud.
ANI