Archaeologists in Khemisset, Morocco, working on a dig that began in 2006, announced Friday that they have uncovered an ancient burial ground in a cave 18 kilometres east of the capital, Rabat. Youssef Bokbot, director of the dig, said that for the first time in this region they are finding human skeletons that date back 5000 years to the Beaker culture that existed from the end of the Neolithic period to the Bronze Age.  "Seven skeletons and four graves will allow us to identify very precisely the funeral rites of this culture," Bokbot said of the discovery. "The copper objects that we found in association with these graves confirm humanity's evolution, the passage from stone to metal, a real transformation", the archaeologist added.

Sources: Middle East Online, Independent Online, Fox News (7 May 2010)