The mystery of the mother's skeleton was found still carrying the baby after 4800 years

This photo of a stone-age skeleton of a mother holding her child in an unearthed common grave went viral and attracted massive news organizations from Fox News to the Huffington Post.

Ordinarily, very few people care about the findings of archaeological digs - broken vases, scattered bone fragments, often signs of cannibalism or exceptional carbon dating old to attract mainstream media attention. However, a Taiwanese finding published last year proved to be an exception to the rule.

The origin of mummified and mummified children

The scientific excavation began in 2014 and took about a year to complete. A team of archaeologists led by Chu Whei-Lee of the National Science Museum of Taiwan is working on a Neolithic site 6.2 miles (10 km) off the west coast of Taiwan. ).

Today, that area is known as Taichung City, but the area itself has been named An-ho. Experts believe that the coastline has changed over the years and that An-ho was once a seaside village. Indeed, more than 200 shark teeth have been found in the settlements of this area, however, it remains unclear whether these teeth are actual, decorative or spiritual. The inhabitants of An-ho were most likely Dabenkeng.

"The Dabenkeng people were the first farmers in Taiwan, they probably came from the southern and southeastern coasts of China about 5,000 years ago," said Chengwha Tsang of Taiwan's Academia Sinica.

'This culture is the earliest Neolithic culture so far found in Taiwan'. (Drake, 2016) Taiwan's Dabenkeng culture features pottery and stringed stone ornaments.

An example of wire ceramics. Taiwan's Dabenkeng culture (to which experts believe mother and baby belong) is characterized by pottery and stringed stone ornaments.

While Dabenkeng existed until the 3rd millennium BC in Mainland China, the Dabenkeng of Taiwan lasted only until about 4,500 BC. However, from Taiwan, the Dabenkeng people spread throughout Southeast Asia and Oceania, bringing with them their culture and language. Tsang (Drake, 2016) said: 'They are probably the earliest ancestors of Austronesian language speakers living in Taiwan and on the islands in the Pacific Ocean.

In An-ho, 48 graves were discovered, among them five children. The most interesting thing is the common grave of a mother looking down at her child being held in her arms. It is not clear how they died.

The remains of a young mother holding her child.

Archaeological team leader Chu Whei-Lee said: 'The young mother holding her baby surprised us the most. I guess they were buried under the house by their loved ones,' she added, although more evidence is needed to substantiate that opinion (Drake, 2016). 'When it was excavated, all the archaeologists and staff were shocked. Why? Because the mother is looking down at the child in her arms," ​​said Chu Whei-lee (Hamacher, 2016).

Further examination, including DNA analysis, of the mother and child as well as other graves, is still underway. What we do know is that the mother is 160cm tall and the baby is one and a half feet (50cm) tall.

Carbon dating dates their burial to around 4,800 years ago, placing them in the island's Stone Age. The organs are tied together in a typical north-south direction. Unusually, they were placed on their backs (instead of face down like other graves at this site). Furthermore, the mother's face is tilted to the right and down for her to look at the child in her arms, even in skeleton form some 5000 years later.

Undoubtedly, this old motherly moment is exactly what has helped make this couple a modern day viral relationship.