Archaeologists find 5000 year-old skeleton in Morocco

[Kara Sundstrom]

Archaeologists find 5000 year-old skeletons
    May 07 2010 at 05:11PM    Get IOL on your
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Kheisset, Morocco - Archaeologists in Morocco uncovered an ancient burial ground in a cave east of the capital Rabat, digging up human skeletons dating back 5000 years, they told reporters on Friday.

It is the first time that human skeletons dating from the end of the Neolithic period to the Bronze Age have been discovered in Morocco, Youssef Bokbot said, leading the team carrying out the digs.

"Seven skeletons and four graves will allow us to identify very precisely the funeral rites of the Beaker culture, a first", Bokbot said of the discovery in a cave near Khemisset, 80 kilometres from Rabat.

"The copper objects that we found confirmed humanity's evolution, the passage from stone to metal, a real transformation", the archaeologist added.

The digs, which began in 2006, were in a cave 18 kilometres from Khemisset. - Sapa-AFP

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