Ancient Spanish tomb containing human remains reveals Stone Age burial secrets

A MASS grave in Spain has shed light on how a 6,000-year-old community brought new burial practices to Europe.

The Neolithic tomb near Burgos contains 50 skeletons from a close-knit farming community.

Researchers from the University of Valladolid have discovered that these Stone Age citizens were among the first to use permanent stone memorials to remember their dead forebears.

A researcher said: “Where a tomb had once stood, a monument to the memory of the ancestors was now erected as a permanent reference to their presence in the symbolic and cultural landscape.”

The study also found the community probably bred sheep and goats and suffered from degenerative joint diseases.