DNA has solved the mystery of 11,000-year-old bones from a British cave

Scientists have identified who the oldest human remains found in northern Britain belonged to. Bones aged about 11 thousand years, found in a cave in the county of Cumbria, turned out to be the remains of a girl of about 2.5-3.5 years. It was possible to determine this thanks to DNA analysis.

The find was made several years ago during excavations in the Heaning Wood cave. Now an international team of researchers was able to extract enough genetic material from the bones to accurately determine the sex and approximate age of the child. According to scientists, such accurate data on such ancient remains can be obtained very rarely.

This burial dates back to the early Mesolithic, a period shortly after the end of the last ice age. The remains are thought to be the oldest discovered in northern Britain and one of the earliest Mesolithic burials in north-west Europe.

In the same cave, archaeologists found jewellery - shell beads and a pierced deer tooth. Their dating coincides with the age of the bones, indicating a deliberate burial rather than an accidental entry of the remains into the cave.

Local researchers gave the girl the name "Ossick Lass" - "the girl from Urswick" - to emphasise the discovery's connection to the site.

In addition to this child, the remains of at least eight other people buried in the cave were discovered, ranging in age from Mesolithic to Bronze Age. This suggests that the cave has been used as a burial site for thousands of years.