An analysis of bones in Gough’s Cave, Somerset, UK, has found conclusive evidence that Stone Age people practised ritualistic cannibalism.
Archeologists said the bite marks and cuts on the bones showed that people from the Paleolithic period feasted on the dead by gnawing on the bones and stripping away the flesh using primitive tools.
They also found human skulls in the same location, which had been carved into eating bowls and drinking cups.
According to the Mail Online, the remains date from 14,700 years ago and belonged to prehistoric hunter-gatherers known as the Magdalenians — Cro-Magnon people who populated North Western Europe at the end of the last Ice Age.
Despite the cannibalism, the archeologists say they were physically similar to us and had quite a complex and sophisticated lifestyle, revealed in their artistic skills and tool-making.
These particular bones from the site were first found 35 years ago, but it is only now that archeologists have uncovered definite signs of cannibalism. The cave, which is in the Cheddar Gorge in south-west England, is 295 meters (almost a 1,000 ft) deep.
The researchers from the Natural History Museum in London and University College London used three dimensional imaging techniques to examine the human remains, which uncovered the tell-tale signs of tooth marks and scratches made by cutting tools. The researchers added that, “the cranial remains had been carefully modified to make skull-cups.”
Motherboard quotes paleontologist Silvia Bello – one of the authors of the study – who said,
“During this research, however, we’ve identified a far greater degree of human modification than recorded earlier. We’ve found evidence for defleshing, disarticulation, human chewing, crushing of spongy bone, and the cracking of bones to extract marrow.”
She continued,
“We find (cut marks) all over the skull and all over the face. We suspect that what they were doing was meticulously removing every single soft tissue on the skull. We have signs that indicate cutting of the lips, extraction of the eyes and cheek and possibly cutting of the tongue as well.”
“Once that was done it was possible to break and remove the facial bones and then very carefully going all the way along the skull doing some percussion or banging using a stone. It was a very careful process.”
Some archeologists believe that Stone Age cannibalism was not practiced out of hunger, but was part of a social custom associated with the burial of the dead. Burials and cremations are rarely found during this period and some think that cannibalism was one way of disposing of the dead, which at the same time held ritualistic importance.
On the other hand, the large number of remains which seem to have been disposed of quite quickly, could be the sign of a war-like attack, followed by the consumption of the dead from an enemy tribe.
If you happen to be in the area, the caves are open to the public and professional guides take groups on tours through its stunning underground caverns and lagoons.
