Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleAdult skull from Majolicas Cave showing cut marks (Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo/IAM-CSIC)Ancient human fossils unearthed from three caves in Granada, Spain, reveal that cannibalism resurfaced among early Europeans in varied contexts over thousands of years. A study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science re-examined nearly 1,000 bones using modern techniques, analysing whether the remains found in the three caves had been intentionally manipulated.Evidence from Malalmuerzo cave points to a possible episode of collective violence around 5000 BC, whilst two modified skull cups were discovered at the Carigüela cave. “The available evidence suggests that cannibalism was not a continuous phenomenon during the European Neolithic, but rather was concentrated in certain periods and regions; a temporal pattern shared across Europe into which the episodes documented in these three caves also fit,” said Francesc Marginedas, an author of the study.Lead author Palmira Saladié said: “We can say that throughout the Neolithic, in a discontinuous yet recurrent manner, there was a context of conflict and/or manipulation of human remains that we believe reflects changes in social organisation, intergroup relations, and attitudes towards death and violence.”In fullEarly Europeans resorted to cannibalism several times over thousands of years, cave fossils revealMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Ancient human fossils shed new light on early European cannibalism
Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleAdult skull from Majolicas Cave showing cut marks (Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo/IAM-CSIC)Ancient human fossils unearthed from three caves in Granada, Spain, reveal that cannibalism resurfaced among early Europeans in varied contexts over thousands of years. A study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science re-examined nearly 1,000 bones using modern techniques, analysing whether the remains found in the three caves had been intentionally manipulated.Evidence from Malalmuerzo cave points to a possible episode of collective violence around 5000 BC, whilst two modified skull cups were discovered at the Carigüela cave. “The available evidence suggests that cannibalism was not a continuous phenomenon during the European Neolithic, but rather was concentrated in certain periods and regions; a temporal pattern shared across Europe into which the episodes documented in these three caves also fit,” said Francesc Marginedas, an author of the study.Lead author Palmira Saladié said: “We can say that throughout the Neolithic, in a discontinuous yet recurrent manner, there was a context of conflict and/or manipulation of human remains that we believe reflects changes in social organisation, intergroup relations, and attitudes towards death and violence.”In fullEarly Europeans resorted to cannibalism several times over thousands of years, cave fossils revealMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
