Uyun al-Hammam is a prehistoric burial site in Jordan. It is the earliest known formal burial site in the Middle East, and is possibly the oldest in the world. Remains at the 16,500-year-old burial site, located in Wadi Ziqlab, were first discovered in 2000.
Researchers from the University of Toronto found buried fox remains at the site. The remains were buried in such a manner to suggest that prehistoric humans in that locale may have kept foxes as companion animals, similar to modern dogs. The find provides information on both the earliest burial practices of ancient humans and earliest animal domestication of ancient humans.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge published their findings regarding the site in a paper published January 27, 2011.