BEIJING, November 10. /TASS/. Archaeologists have unearthed a prehistoric burial dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years in south China’s Hainan Province. This is the earliest burial found on the island, Xinhua news agency reported.

The discovery was made by a team of archeologists from Hainan’s Cultural Heritage Institute, the School of Archeology and Museology at Beijing University and the Sanya Museum. The burial itself is located in the Luobi Cave site in Jiyang District in Sanya.

The skeletal remains of a child were laid on their side, with its fingers bent. Shell beads that archeologists say are the earliest in their kind were found near the head and waist. The finds could provide further insights into prehistoric culture on Hainan Island, the agency said.

The Loubi Cave site itself was discovered in 1983. It has previously yielded human fossils, and stone tools, bone implements as well as animal remains.