Paleontologists in the South African Republic announced that they had found it the oldest known tomb in the world, which contains the remains of distant human ancestors with small brains, thought to be incapable of complex behavior, writes Algeciras.

The researchers led by paleoanthropologist Lee Berger announced that they had discovered several specimens of Homo naledi, a Stone Age hominid that climbed trees.

The remains were buried about 30 meters underground in the cave system "Cradle of Mankind", a paleoanthropological site located about 50 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, a site protected by UNESCO.

"These are the oldest hominin remains ever recorded, predating evidence of Homo sapiens remains by at least 100.000 years," the scientists wrote in a series of papers yet to be peer-reviewed and published in the journal eLife.

The findings call into question the current understanding of human evolution, as it is commonly thought that the development of larger brains enabled the performance of complex activities, such as burying the dead.

The oldest previously excavated tombs, found in the Middle East and Africa, contained the remains of Homo sapiens and were about 100.000 years old.

Those found in South Africa by a research team led by Berger, whose previous statements have been controversial, date to at least 200.000 BC.