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Archaeology

Twelve thousand years of ritual practice

It is rare to formally identify ethnographically known rituals in the archaeological record that are more than a few hundred years old. David et al. report two buried miniature fireplaces from Cloggs Cave, southeastern Australia, that match the structure and contents of ethnographically known Australian Aboriginal rituals, which signals 500 generations of cultural tradition.

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Correspondence to Elspeth Hayes.

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Hayes, E. Twelve thousand years of ritual practice. Nat Hum Behav (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01916-6

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