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It is rare to formally identify ethnographically known rituals in the archaeological record that are more than a few hundred years old. David et al. report two buried miniature fireplaces

from Cloggs Cave, southeastern Australia, that match the structure and contents of ethnographically known Australian Aboriginal rituals, which signals 500 generations of cultural tradition.

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INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * MicroTrace Archaeology, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia Elspeth Hayes * University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia Elspeth

Hayes Authors * Elspeth Hayes View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Elspeth Hayes. ETHICS DECLARATIONS

COMPETING INTERESTS The author declares no competing interests. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Hayes, E. Twelve thousand years of ritual

practice. _Nat Hum Behav_ 8, 1444–1445 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01916-6 Download citation * Published: 01 July 2024 * Issue Date: August 2024 * DOI:

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