Dederiyeh Cave
Dederiyeh Cave is a cave in Syria in which systematic excavations have take place since 1987. The cave is located 60 kilometers northwest of Aleppo in the Afrin District, on the left bank of a wadi, at an altitude of 450 meter. Two Neanderthal children were found in the cave, in 1993 and 1997-1998, both of which showed evidence that they were buried.[1]
 Dederiyeh 1.Two-year-old Neanderthal, dated 70 kya-50 kya | |
 .svg.png.webp){kind=icon} Location in Syria | |
| Location | Afrin |
|---|---|
| Region | Syria |
| Coordinates | 36°24′00″N 36°52′00″E |
| Height | 450 m |
| History | |
| Periods | Middle Paleolithic |
| Associated with | Neanderthal |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1987 |
| Archaeologists | Takeru Akazawa, Sultan Muhesen |
Description
The cave consists of a chamber, 15 meters wide and 8 meters high, rising up to 10 meters in the back where a chimney is a second exit, and 50 meters deep. The main entrance is north and overlooks the wadi.[1]
Excavations
Tentative excavations took place in 1989 and 1990, and more serious research started in 1993; it quickly yielded the remains of a Neanderthal child, about two years old, an almost complete set of remains. A second (partial) skeleton was found in 1997-1998, in a pit of 70cm by 50 cm, filled in with fine brown dirt in which flint were found. The researchers concluded that this also was intentionally buried.[1]
In all the remains of up to fifteen individuals have been found, in the Middle Paleolithic layers of the cave. More than half of them were children.[1]
References
- Akazawa, Takeru; Muhesen, Sultan; Ishida, Hajime; Kondo, Osamu; Griggo, Christophe (1999). "New Discovery of a Neanderthal Child Burial from the Dederiyeh Cave in Syria". Paléorient. 25 (2): 129–42. doi:10.3406/paleo.1999.4691.