L’Anse Amour Burial

A mound of rocks marks the burial place of an Indian child who died about 7500 years ago and is the earliest known funeral monument in the new world. The child belonged to the Maritime Archaic people, who occupied this area between 9000 and 3500 years ago. The body was covered with red ochre, wrapped in skins or birch bark, and placed in a large pit 1.5 metres deep. Fires were lit on either side of the body, and several spearheads of stone and bone were placed beside the head. A walrus tusk, harpoon head, paint stones, and a bone whistle were also placed with the body.

Newfoundland and Labrador · Canada