Latest news with #FrancescMarginedas
Scottish Sun
10-08-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Cannibals ‘cooked & ate' humans 6,000-years-ago in bizarre rituals as human bones found riddled with bite marks
All recommendations within this article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click on a link in this story we may earn affiliate revenue. Six people's remains showing clear signs of cannibalism were previously found in the same cave HUMAN MEAT Cannibals 'cooked & ate' humans 6,000-years-ago in bizarre rituals as human bones found riddled with bite marks A HUGE family was slaughtered, skinned, cooked and eaten in a cave nearly 6,000 years ago, a new study reveals. Neolithic cannibals in what's now northern Spain feasted on at least 11 people - including kids - their remains show. 4 The cannibalised human remains of at least 11 people Credit: IPHES-CERCA 4 The remains were found in El Mirador cave in northern Spain Credit: Getty 4 The cave is believed to have been the site of a violent clash 5,600 years ago Credit: IPHES-CERCA Bones discovered at the El Mirador cave showed clear evidence of cannibalism, including cut marks, human bite marks and fractures for marrow extraction. The bones also showed signs of being boiled, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. The gruesome event is believed to have occurred over a few days during the final phase of the Neolithic - or New Stone Age - occupation of the cave. Researchers believe the cannibalism was a result of violence between groups - not ritual or famine. "This was neither a funerary tradition nor a response to extreme famine," said study co-author Francesc Marginedas, who is an IPHES evolutionary anthropologist and quaternary archaeologist. "The evidence points to a violent episode, given how quickly it all took place - possibly the result of conflict between neighbouring farming communities," he added. Based on radiocarbon dating, the bones were found to be between 5,573 and 5,709 years old. A chemical analysis revealed that the individuals were local to the region and likely a nuclear or extended family, with ages ranging from under seven to over 50. The analysis also confirmed suspicions they had been killed over a short period of time. The discovery has captured the attention of historians studying the Neolithic period as it offers rare evidence of conflict-driven cannibalism. True face of 'alien' reconstructed by scientists after bizarre 1,500-year-old elongated skull found buried in village The Neolithic period, which lasted till around 2000 BC, is understood to have been marked by upheaval and conflict. Humanity shifted from nomadic foraging and hunting to settled farming and animal domestication - sparking new social hierarchies and competition over land and resources. "Conflict and the development of strategies to manage and prevent it are part of human nature," said study co-author, archaeologist and IPHES researcher Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo. "Ethnographic and archaeological records show that even in the less stratified and small-scale societies, violent episodes can occur in which the enemies could be consumed as a form of ultimate elimination." In the early 2000s, archaeologists found the remains of six people with similar marks at El Mirador cave. "Taphonomic analysis revealed the existence of cutmarks, human toothmarks, cooking damage, and deliberate breakage in most of the remains recovered, suggesting a clear case of gastronomic cannibalism," wrote the authors of the study published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. The remains are younger than the recently discovered ones, dating to the early Bronze Age - about 4,600 to 4,100 years old. Meanwhile, human remains recently found in Maszycka Cave in Poland suggest victims of cannibalism during an act of war. A study published in Scientific Reports in February analysed 53 bones belonging to at least 10 people, six adults and four children. The 18,000-year-old bones show signs of butchering and were hard to distinguish from the animal bones they were found alongside. Cut marks and fractures reveal the attackers cracked open skulls and scooped out brains. The pattern indicates they targeted the most calorie-rich parts - the brains, bone marrow and muscles - shortly after death.
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Stone Age family may have been cannibalized for 'ultimate elimination' 5,600 years ago, study suggests
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A Neolithic family was massacred, skinned, defleshed, cooked and eaten in a cave on the Iberian peninsula 5,600 years ago, a new study suggests. Researchers found evidence that at least 11 people, including adults, adolescents and children, may have been victims of warfare cannibalism during a bloody event at the El Mirador cave in northern Spain. Bones found at the cave had cut marks, human bite marks, fractures for marrow extraction and signs they'd been boiled, according to the researchers' findings, published Thursday (Aug. 7) in the journal Scientific Reports. The gristly event happened over a short period — possibly within a few days — during the final phase of the Neolithic, or New Stone Age, occupation of the cave, when farming and agriculture became more prevalent in the region. While researchers could only speculate that intergroup violence caused the apparent cannibalization, they didn't find any signs of ritual or famine that might otherwise explain the event. "This was neither a funerary tradition nor a response to extreme famine," study co-author Francesc Marginedas, a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) and the University of Rovira i Virgili in Spain, said in a statement. "The evidence points to a violent episode, given how quickly it all took place — possibly the result of conflict between neighboring farming communities." Related: Ancient human relative cannibalized toddlers, 850,000-year-old neck bone reveals This isn't the first time researchers have found evidence of cannibalization at El Mirador cave. In the early 2000s, archaeologists uncovered the remains of six individuals with similar marks to those in the new study. However, those remains were younger, from the early Bronze Age about 4,600 to 4,100 years old, and unrelated to the hundreds of newly identified older bones discovered in subsequent excavations, according to the study. The researchers radiocarbon dated the bones in the new study to between 5,709 and 5,573 years old, and a chemical analysis determined that they were local to the region and butchered over a short period. The victims ranged in age from younger than 7 to over 50, and were likely a nuclear or extended family, according to the study. RELATED STORIES —Ancient Europeans ate the brains of their dead enemies 18,000 years ago, researchers discover —Scientists discover what could be the oldest evidence of cannibalism among ancient human relatives —4,000-year-old bones reveal 'unprecedented' violence — tongue removal, cannibalism and evisceration in Bronze Age Britain This new case of potentially conflict-driven cannibalism aligns with evidence for widespread inter-group violence during the Neolithic. The researchers noted that this period was marked by conflict and instability as Europe shifted from foraging to farming. "Conflict and the development of strategies to manage and prevent it are part of human nature," study co-author Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo, an archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology–Mérida and affiliated researcher at IPHES, said in the statement. "Ethnographic and archaeological records show that even in the less stratified and small-scale societies, violent episodes can occur in which the enemies could be consumed as a form of ultimate elimination." Stone Age quiz: What do you know about the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic?
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
These Ancient Warriors Ate the Brains of Their Enemies, Study Finds
A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports indicates that ancient warriors ate the brains of their enemies. The particularly gruesome form of celebration was a common occurrence for the Madelenians, who reportedly consumed the brains of their enemies after battle in order to celebrate the death of their foes. Though it's long been thought that pre-historic European cultures dabbled in cannibalism, the notion wasn't confirmed until recently (via Popular Mechanics) when a team of researchers extracted and analyzed skulls and other human remains from Poland's Maszycka Cave. According to the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution, more than 68 percent of the 63 bones analyzed contained manipulation 'related to human consumption, such as the removal of muscle bundles, brain, and marrow.' Cranial and mandibular fragments, in particular, 'exhibited modifications related to scalping, defleshing and disarticulation.''The location and frequency of cut marks and intentional fracturing on the skeleton is clear evidence of nutritional exploitation of the bodies, ruling out the hypothesis of funerary treatment without consumption,' explained Francesc Marginedas, head of the Catalan Institute and a researcher there. The study noted that 'the butchering process took place shortly after death with no period reserved for the bodies to decompose or dry.' The deceased were 'intensively manipulated' to extract all possible fluids and make best use of the cadaver's 'caloric contribution.' Researchers believe the cannibalistic practice may have begun due to scarce food resources after the Ice Age, but they say it may also have had a ritualistic purpose. 'Cannibalism is a behavior documented at various times in human evolution,' said the study's co-author, Palmira Saladie, a Catalan Institute researcher. 'In prehistoric contexts, it could respond both to survival needs and to ritual practices or even to dynamics of intergroup violence.'
CNN
12-02-2025
- Health
- CNN
Early Europeans may have eaten their enemies' brains, archaeologists say
Ancient humans living in Europe may have scooped out the brains of their dead enemies and eaten them, a new study suggests. In the study, published last week in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers examined the bones of at least 10 people from the Magdalenian culture who lived in Europe 11,000–17,000 years ago. Using imaging techniques, the team of researchers from institutes in France, Spain and Poland identified types of marks and cuts 'associated with the removal of the marrow in the long bones and the brain in the skulls.' Multiple other studies have shown that cannibalism was relatively common among Magdalenian people, both as a funerary rite and as a form of violence. But this specific instance 'was a case of warfare,' Francesc Marginedas, the co-lead author of the study, argues, because there was 'no kind of special treatment compared to other Magdalenian sites,' nor the presence of skull cups, 'which is related to the ritualization of the bodies.' Marginedas, an archaeologist at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in Spain, was part of a team studying the bones deposited in Maszycka Cave, near Kraków, Poland – a well-known prehistoric site that has been extensively studied for decades. During that time, different theories have emerged to explain why the ancient Magdalenians cut open the skulls of dead bodies. While a study in the 1990s concluded that these ancient humans consumed the brains of their enemies, later studies highlighted a lack of human tooth marks on the skulls, undermining the cannibalism hypothesis. For Marginedas, however, all the evidence 'makes us think that it's something more related to violence and conflict rather than a funeral ritual,' he told CNN on Tuesday. He and his team used electron microscopes to study the bones, identifying marks and cuts on 68% of them and demonstrating that they were made by humans rather than by natural processes. The bones belonged to at least 10 individuals – six adults and four juveniles – who may have been related to each other, Marginedas said, adding that further DNA analysis is needed to confirm that. Since they died so long ago, 'it's very difficult to say 100% that it's a case ofwarfare cannibalism,' he said. 'During the taphonomic analysis (study of the processes undergone by organic matter after death) of the surface of the whole bones to find any kind of marks that can tell us some story about what happened, we identified that … the bones from the arms and the legs, they were butchered and broken … to extract and consume the marrow.' Bill Schutt, a zoologist and author of 'Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History,' who was not involved in the study, told CNN that 'this is a very well-written paper' and 'a really good study.' He cautioned, however, against reaching definitive conclusions that this is an example of cannibalism. 'There are alternative answers to this question of what happened back then,' he said, explaining that we don't know enough about Magdalenian culture to say that they were cannibals. 'Who knows what these people were doing? Did they believe it was respectful to smash up the skulls of the dead or deflesh them?' said Schutt. 'There are cultures where bodies are defleshed as part of funerary rites.' CNN's Jack Guy contributed to this report.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Early Europeans may have eaten their enemies' brains, archaeologists say
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Ancient humans living in Europe may have scooped out the brains of their dead enemies and eaten them, a new study suggests. In the study, published last week in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers examined the bones of at least 10 people from the Magdalenian culture who lived in Europe 11,000–17,000 years ago. Using imaging techniques, the team of researchers from institutes in France, Spain and Poland identified types of marks and cuts 'associated with the removal of the marrow in the long bones and the brain in the skulls.' Multiple other studies have shown that cannibalism was relatively common among Magdalenian people, both as a funerary rite and as a form of violence. But this specific instance 'was a case of warfare,' Francesc Marginedas, the co-lead author of the study, argues, because there was 'no kind of special treatment compared to other Magdalenian sites,' nor the presence of skull cups, 'which is related to the ritualization of the bodies.' Marginedas, an archaeologist at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in Spain, was part of a team studying the bones deposited in Maszycka Cave, near Kraków, Poland – a well-known prehistoric site that has been extensively studied for decades. During that time, different theories have emerged to explain why the ancient Magdalenians cut open the skulls of dead bodies. While a study in the 1990s concluded that these ancient humans consumed the brains of their enemies, later studies highlighted a lack of human tooth marks on the skulls, undermining the cannibalism hypothesis. For Marginedas, however, all the evidence 'makes us think that it's something more related to violence and conflict rather than a funeral ritual,' he told CNN on Tuesday. He and his team used electron microscopes to study the bones, identifying marks and cuts on 68% of them and demonstrating that they were made by humans rather than by natural processes. The bones belonged to at least 10 individuals – six adults and four juveniles – who may have been related to each other, Marginedas said, adding that further DNA analysis is needed to confirm that. Since they died so long ago, 'it's very difficult to say 100% that it's a case ofwarfare cannibalism,' he said. 'During the taphonomic analysis (study of the processes undergone by organic matter after death) of the surface of the whole bones to find any kind of marks that can tell us some story about what happened, we identified that … the bones from the arms and the legs, they were butchered and broken … to extract and consume the marrow.' Bill Schutt, a zoologist and author of 'Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History,' who was not involved in the study, told CNN that 'this is a very well-written paper' and 'a really good study.' He cautioned, however, against reaching definitive conclusions that this is an example of cannibalism. 'There are alternative answers to this question of what happened back then,' he said, explaining that we don't know enough about Magdalenian culture to say that they were cannibals. 'Who knows what these people were doing? Did they believe it was respectful to smash up the skulls of the dead or deflesh them?' said Schutt. 'There are cultures where bodies are defleshed as part of funerary rites.' CNN's Jack Guy contributed to this report.
