Archaeology Research team has discovered 18,000-year-old traces of cannibalism
People in the late Ice Age ate parts of the dead. Researchers have found traces of cannibalism on human bones from central Europe dating back 18,000 years, the University of Göttingen (Germany) reported on Monday.
10.02.2025, 12:00
SDA
Intersections and other traces on remains from the so-called Maszycka Cave in southern Poland indicate a systematic dismemberment of the deceased and cannibalism.
The Maszycka Cave is an important site from the late Palaeolithic period. More than a hundred years ago, researchers discovered human bones among stone tools, bone tips and the remains of hunting prey from Ice Age animals. Excavations in the 1960s yielded further human remains, so that a total of 63 bones from ten individuals from the late Ice Age were available for examination.
Dismembered immediately after death
Using modern methods, an international research team identified traces in 36 cases that indicate that the people were dismembered immediately after their death. Cutting marks on skull fragments indicate that the muscle attachments and scalp were cut off, while long bones were smashed in order to reach the bone marrow.
These findings have been linked to the so-called Magdalenian period in France, a late Ice Age society that existed between 20,000 and 14,500 years ago and is known for its impressive works of art - such as the famous cave paintings of Lascaux.
First author Francesc Marginedas believes a kind of violent cannibalism is possible. After the cold maximum of the last ice age, there was population growth, which could have led to conflicts over resources and territories. In addition, human remains were mixed with settlement waste in the Maszycka Cave, which indicates that the dead were not treated with respect.
The researchers consider cannibalism out of necessity to be unlikely, however, because the diverse artistic evidence points to favorable living conditions at this time. The results were published in the journal "Scientific Reports".
