A late analysis of human - chewed remains has furnish some of the most compelling grounds to date that icing age Britons engaged in cannibalistic drill .
scientist from the Natural History Museum , University College London , with the help of specialists from several Spanish universities , have let on the front of human tooth - marks on human bones recovered from Gough ’s Cave in Somerset , England . The determination , which are report in theJournal of Human Evolution , allow for what the researchers call “ irrefutable evidence for cannibalism ” among Magdalenians , a Orion - gatherer polish present in western Europe toward the remainder of the last ice eld . These finicky remain date to around 15,000 year ago .
Prior to this analysis , the effective grounds for cannibalism make out in the form of human skull cap , also found in Gough ’s cave ( shown above ) .
The subject field ’s abstract allow a tidy summary of the findings :
Our present analysis of the [ remains ] has identified a far greater degree of human qualifying than recorded in earlier study . We identify blanket evidence for defleshing , disarticulation , chew , crushing of squishy off-white , and the cracking of clappers to extract bone marrow . The presence of human tooth marks on many of the … clappers provides demonstrable evidence for cannibalism . In a wider context , the discussion of the human corpse and the manufacture and use of skull - cup at Gough Cave have parallels with other Magdalenian sites in central and western Europe . This hint that cannibalism during the Magdalenian was part of a customary mortuary practice that combine intensive processing and ingestion of the bodies with ritual use of skull - cup .
Going forrard , the research worker hope to demonstrate whether cannibalism was a far-flung drill among the Magdalenians , or simply limited to this particular region or population .
Related : Ancient Bolivians Used Basic Chemistry To Strip Flesh From Human Bones|Discovery Of 8,000 - yr - Old Wheat Could Rewrite Ancient British History
https://gizmodo.com/ancient-bolivians-used-basic-chemistry-to-strip-flesh-f-1687732128
https://gizmodo.com/discovery-of-8-000-year-old-wheat-could-rewrite-ancient-1688453479
take the full study at the Journal of Human Evolution : “ Upper Palaeolithic ritualistic cannibalism at Gough ’s Cave ( Somerset , UK ): The human stay on from head to toe “ .
[ Natural History Museum ]
Images : Natural History Museum
anthropologyArchaeologyBiologyCannibalismHistoryScience
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