War and violence are sure enough nothing unexampled , both have play a tragically cardinal role in the story of mankind . Yet while innovative conflicts may involve gamy - technical school arms and cyber tactics , a recent finding in the French commune of Bergheim has provided a window into the fundamental nature of violence and warfare in theNeolithicperiod , which ended around 2,000 B.C.E.
Examining the contents of a series of sepulture pits , investigator remark that one in particular was “ dead exceptional in its contents . ” Known simply as pitfall 157 , the 2 - meter - wide ( 6.5 - foot ) opening was found to contain bones belonging to a minimum of 14 people , who died between 5,500 and 6,500 years ago .
Of particular interest was one virile skeleton , dub single number 7 , which displayed evidence of blows to the head that the researchers believe were “ believably related to to his death , ” and could therefore “ match to his execution . ” The unlucky number 7 also come out to have received man - inflicted injury to his articulatio humeri and ribs .
Publishing point of their discovery in the journalAntiquity , the investigator also reported find a number of severed arm and discerp hand bones , belonging to an unknown number of masses , scattered around the body . Further psychoanalysis of the markings bequeath on these bones bespeak that they were “ believably performed by red blows impose with an implement such as an axe . ”
The man - inflict blows to the skull of private number 7 are likely to have cause his death . Image credit : Antiquity
The archaeologists also set grandness upon the fact that the bodies appeared to have been incautiously tossed into the pit rather than cautiously positioned , show that this was not a self-respecting sepulture . Furthermore , the fact that all individuals died and were inter together suggest that their deaths were not natural .
add all of this grounds up , the team propose two possible explanations for their findings , suggesting that they may have been mutilated and killed as a discriminative penalty or as an enactment of war . However , analyse their discovery further , they reason that war is the most probable of the two possibilities . The authors offer up three potential reasons for the limb amputation , state that they may correspond to post - mortem mutilations intended to restrain others , an bit of torture , or the pickings of trophies .
Though more evidence is call for in Holy Order to support any of these possibility in relation to European Neolithic communities , the authors note that standardized examples oftrophy - takinghave been documented among historical group elsewhere .
Researchers find eight skeletal system in Hell 157 , along with severed limbs and paw bones belonging to at least seven other individuals . Image credit : Antiquity
While previousdiscoveriesof mutilated Neolithic skeletons have sparked debate about the existence of warfare during this period , evidence of specific war practices had until now been lack . Summing up their finding , the researchers state that “ fossa 157 play readable grounds of what was probably an act of inter - group armed violence , that is to say ‘ state of war ’ … To our cognition , no other example of amputation , or even of isolated articulated branch , has ever been register for the Late Neolithic [ full point ] . ”
