Our Ancient Human Ancestors Were Cannibals for Ritual Burial Practices

Our ancient human ancestors may have been cannibals. An analysis of remains recovered at a famous archaeological site confirms the existence of a sophisticated culture of butchering and carving of human remains.

The researchers examined remains found in Gough's Cave in Somerset. First discovered in the 1880s, the site was developed as a show cave and largely emptied of sediments, making it difficult to date bones. New radiocarbon techniques, though, have revealed that remains were deposited over a very short period of time, possibly during a series of seasonal occupations, about 14,700 years ago.

"The human remains have been the subject of several studies," said Silvia Bello, one of the researchers, in a news release. "In a previous analysis, we could determine that the cranial remains had been carefully modified to make skull-caps. During this research, however, we've identified a far greater degree of human modification than recorded in earlier. We're found undoubting evidence for defleshing, disarticulation, human chewing, crushing of spongy bone, and the cracking of bones to extract marrow."

The scientists discovered human tooth marks on many of the bones, which suggests that cannibalism occurred. In fact, the treatment of human corpses and the use of skull-caps parallel other ancient sites in central and western Europe. New evidence from Gough's Cave, though, suggests that cannibalism during the Magdalenian period was part of a customary mortuary practice.

"A recurring theme of this period is the remarkable rarity of burials and how commonly we find human remains mixed with occupation waste at many sites," said Simon Parfitt, one of the researchers. "Further analysis along the lines used to study Gough's Cave will help to establish whether the type of ritualistic cannibalism practiced there is a regional ('Creswellian') phenomenon, or a more widespread practice found throughout the Magdalenian world."

The findings are published in the Journal of Human Evolution.

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