Humans honor their dead (c. 50,000 BC - Europe/Asia)
Elaborate burial rites have been adopted by Neanderthal communities in Europe and Asia, indicating growing respect for the dead and suggesting that ideas and beliefs about some sort of afterlife are now generally accepted.
Funeral Rites
In the grotto of Shanidar, in Iraq, a man is buried amid wreaths of brightly colored flowers and sweet aromas. In France, a young man goes down to the grave with stone tools and animal bones scattered around him. In a rock shelter in La Ferrassie, France, a man, a woman, two children and a newborn are buried in a small cemetery. In Central Asia, a child is buried with a ring of goat's horns mounted in the earth around its head. It is not known whether these burials are of especially important members of the communities, but one fact has been noted:men are often buried with food, tools or other items, while women do not seem to get similar treatment. Less Respect Not all Neanderthal communities show as much respect for the dead. In Krapina, in northern Yugoslavia, crushed human bones were thrown to the ground along with animal bones, with no attempt to bury them, and some show cut marks. Cannibalism is suspected, but not certain about it.
Prehistory