World's Oldest, Stone Age Bed Found in South Africa

The world's oldest bed, which dates back to 77,000 years ago, has been discovered in a cave in South Africa.

The bed, made of bundles of sedge and wild quince leaves, was found by Professor Lyn Wadley of Wits University, while excavating a site at Sibudu in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.

At the site, Wadley made the discovery of the bed of about 1x2m in size, which had lain buried more than three meters deep in sediments.

What was special about the bed was that it was covered with a layer of aromatic leaves from a plant called the river wild quince. No other tree leaves were found on the bedding, so the leaves were not there as a result of random leaf fall.

The leaves of the river wild quince have insect-repellent properties, especially against mosquitoes, so these bed-makers clearly had a good knowledge of herbal medicine.

The bed-makers were Middle Stone Age humans, who were skilled in making stone tools, including spearheads, knives and scrapers, as well as perforated-shell jewelery.