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According to a new study, the oldest twin burial ever found may have been discovered in Austria.
The mysterious tomb contains the remains of two twin babies and dates back to 31,000 years ago.
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This means that the twins would have lived briefly during the Upper Paleolithic, also called the Ancient Stone Age.
This period was around 50,000 to 10,000 years ago.
Analysis of both twins showed that one died soon after giving birth and the other lived for about 50 days before being buried next to his brother.
A third child was found buried nearby and may be a cousin of the twins.
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The two small children were buried in an oval-shaped tomb on the bank of the Danube River.
This is now an archaeological site called Krems-Wachtberg.
They were actually found in 2005, but a new study has investigated their remains further.
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A red pigment called ocher was used to cover the twins’ bodies and they were buried with 53 pearls, some of which were made of mammoth ivory.
These beads were probably originally on a necklace.
A pierced fox tooth and three pierced mollusks were also found, which may have been on pendants before the wire decayed.
A mammoth shoulder blade was placed over the twins to protect their little bodies.
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The nearby infant burial also involved ocher and a mammoth ivory brooch that was thought to be used to tie a leather garment together.
The new study confirmed that the babies were actually twins and also identical.
Principal investigator Maria Teschler-Nicola, of the Vienna Museum of Natural History, said in the statement: “Discovering a multiple burial from the Paleolithic period is a specialty in itself.
“The fact that sufficiently old, high-quality DNA could be extracted from the skeletal remains of the frail child for a genome analysis exceeded all our expectations and can be compared to a lottery ticket.”
Genetic analysis did not reveal the sex of the twins, but revealed that the neighboring child was a boy.
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The twins’ teeth were used to determine age and also revealed that they were breastfed.
The stress lines on the nearby baby’s teeth were said to suggest that her mother may have had a breast infection that made feeding difficult or that she may even have died in childbirth.
Both burials imply that all three children were well cared for and their death would likely have been a great loss to the ancient community.
This research was published online in the journal Communications Biology.
Upper Paleolithic period – the key facts
Here’s what you need to know …
- The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last “subdivision” of the Paleolithic age
- It is best known as the Late Stone Age and took place between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago
- It was followed by the Holocene, which is the current geological age
- Anatomically modern humans emerged from Africa about 200,000 years ago
- But it wasn’t until 50,000 years ago that a marked increase in the diversity of human creations began
- The period also coincides with the extinction of the Neanderthals
- The Late Stone Age has the earliest known evidence of organized settlements such as campsites
- We also witnessed the blossoming of artistic work, as well as evidence of fishing and the creation of specialized tools
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What do you think of this uncovered tomb? Let us know in the comments …
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