KRAKOW, POLAND—Live Science reports that evidence of cannibalism has been identified on 18,000-year-old bones from southern Poland by Francesc Marginedas of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) and his colleagues. Recovered from Maszycka Cave, the 53 bones in the study represent at least 10 people, including six adults and four children. These individuals may have belonged to a single-family unit. Cut marks and fractures made by scalping, defleshing, and removing the ears and jaw were found on 68 percent of the bones. “The location and frequency of the cut marks and the intentional fracturing of the skeleton clearly show nutritional exploitation of the bodies,” Marginedas explained. The marks also indicate that the most nutritious and calorie-dense parts of the bodies, including the brains, bone marrow, and muscles, had been removed shortly after death. Team member Palmira Saladié of IPHES said that it is not clear if the cannibalism was triggered by lack of other food, ritual practices, or intergroup violence, but since the human remains were discovered in the cave among butchered animal bones, cannibalism linked to warfare seems possible. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports. To read about other evidence for ritual cannibalism in Europe, go to "Ice Age Cannibalism."
