BEIJING, CHINA—At the Neolithic site of Shimao Ruins in northern China, archaeologists have unearthed the skulls of more than 80 young women who may have been sacrificed before they were buried in a mass grave. The skulls show signs of “being hit and burned,” according to Sun Zhouyong, deputy head of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology. The women may have been captives that were killed in a ceremony at the construction of the city’s wall some 4,000 years ago. The rest of their bodies have not been found.
Women’s Skulls Discovered in Mass Grave
News December 2, 2013
Recommended Articles
Off the Grid November/December 2025
Bighorn Medicine Wheel, Wyoming
Letter from Mongolia November/December 2025
Building the Black City
Why the nomads of the Uighur Empire constructed a medieval urban center like no other
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2025
In His Majesty's Secret Service
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2025
Washington Risks It All
-
Features November/December 2013
Life on the Inside
Open for only six weeks toward the end of the Civil War, Camp Lawton preserves a record of wartime prison life
(Virginia Historical Society, Mss5.1.Sn237.1v.6p.139) -
Features November/December 2013
Vengeance on the Vikings
Mass burials in England attest to a turbulent time, and perhaps a notorious medieval massacre
(Courtesy Thames Valley Archaeological Services) -
Letter from Bangladesh November/December 2013
A Family's Passion
A father and son watched over a site in northeastern Bangladesh for decades before archaeologists came to see what was there
(Courtesy Reema Islam) -
Artifacts November/December 2013
Moche Ceremonial Shield
(Courtesy Lisa Trever, University of California, Berkeley)