4,000-year-old bones reveal 'unprecedented' violence

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Skull bones from the historical site of Charterhouse Warren in the U.K. reveal proof of deadly injuries 4,000 years back.
(Image credit: Schulting et al., Antiquity )

More than 4,000 years back, almost 40 individuals passed away exceptionally violent deaths in what is now England, with a contemporary analysis of their bones exposing scalping, tongue elimination, decapitation, defleshing, evisceration and cannibalism.

“It paints a considerably darker picture of the period than many would have expected,” Rick Schultingan archaeologist at the University of Oxford, stated in a declaration, and it’s “a stark reminder that people in prehistory could match more recent atrocities.”

Schulting and associates released an in-depth research study of these skeletons Monday (Dec. 16 )in the journal AntiquityThey kept in mind that, in the 1970s, archaeologists discovered more than 3,000 bone pieces in a 66-foot-deep( 20 meters)natural limestone shaft at the website of Charterhouse Warren in the county of Somerset in southwest England. A minimum of 37 individuals, who varied in age from babies to grownups, were discovered in the shaft, and radiocarbon dates recommend individuals passed away a minimum of 4 centuries earlier, throughout the Early Bronze Age( 2200 to 2000 B.C.).

Looking carefully at the fragmented bones, the research study group identified that a minimum of 30% of the skulls had actually been fractured around the time of death, suggesting that lots of– or perhaps all– of individuals suffered violent deaths. What occurred after death was much more gruesome.

In addition, the scientists discovered that approximately 20% of the bones had actually cut marks, the majority of which had actually been made with stone tools. The cut marks’ places exposed the sort of violent actions the dead bodies underwent: Cut marks on the frontal bone of one skull recommended scalping, long slicing marks on a lower jaw of another individual recommended tongue elimination, and cuts on the ribs might be from evisceration, the group stated. A minimum of 6 individuals had actually cut marks on their 2nd cervical vertebra, which implied they were beheaded, and a variety of little hand and foot bones had squashing fractures constant with human chewing.

Related: Ritually bent Bronze Age sword discovered in Danish bog is ‘really unusual discover’

The cut marks on 2 axis (2nd cervical)vertebrae from Charterhouse Warren historical site recommend these individuals were beheaded. ( Image credit: Schulting et al., Antiquity)

The large variety of violent deaths and comprehensive processing of the bodies are exceptionally uncommon for Bronze Age Britain, the scientists kept in mind in their research study, and the practices are plainly unrelated to any recognized funeral service rite.

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“The presence of at least 37 individuals suggests the massacre of a substantial segment of a community,” the scientists composed. “In this case, the violence may have continued postmortem,” and it is most likely that “the aim was to not only eradicate another group, but to thoroughly ‘other’ them in the process.”

The factor for the ruthless mass murder and cannibalism is not clear. The scientists recommended that the level of violence “could indicate that the actions were retaliatory, in response to a previous violent event or the perceived breach of a serious social taboo,” indicating the violence was not useless however rather an extremely political act.

4 bones from a historical site at Charterhouse Warren reveal proof of damage from human chewing. (Image credit: Schulting et al., Antiquity)

“The assemblage from Charterhouse Warren definitely shows signs of perimortem [around the time of death] trauma along with numerous tool marks consistent with body processing,” Anna Osterholtza bioarchaeologist at Mississippi State University who was not associated with the research study, informed Live Science in an e-mail.

“Violence like this often has a social function,” Osterholtz stated, due to the fact that “violent acts, when performed in front of an audience, are important for group identity formation and the negotiation of social relationships.” What the violence informs us about group identity can be obtained just from historical proof.

One possible idea to the massacre originates from the recognition of Yersinia pestisthe germs that triggers pesterin the teeth of 2 kids discovered at Charterhouse Warren, the scientists kept in mind. The truth that a minimum of 2 individuals had afflict when they passed away “raises the possibility that illness exacerbated a sense of fear in the region,” the scientists composed.

Research study on these Early Bronze Age human remains has actually not been finished. “Work is ongoing to shed more light on this decidedly dark episode in British prehistory,” the scientists composed.

Kristina Killgrove is a personnel author at Live Science with a concentrate on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her short articles have actually likewise appeared in locations such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in sociology and classical archaeology and was previously a university teacher and scientist. She has actually gotten awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science composing.