ROC DE LES ORENTES, SPAIN—Millennia ago, a local community living high in the Catalan Pyrenees mountains near present-day Girona buried their dead in a cave over a period of two or three centuries. Excavations in recent years at the site, which is known today as Roc de les Orentes, have uncovered more than 6,000 human bone fragments from about 60 different individuals. Analysis indicates that many of the robust skeletons bear signs of intense physical activities associated with the challenging lifestyle of living and herding in the Pyrenees. However, according to a La Brújula Verde report, the cave has also recently become a 4,000-year-old crime scene. Archaeologists identified a human rib with a flint arrowhead embedded in it. The weapon had struck the individual from behind. Some evidence of violence had previously been detected at the site, such as fractures and cut marks on bones, but the researchers were unsure whether these were part of local funerary traditions. The new find leaves no doubt that there was interpersonal conflict. Surprisingly, though, the bone displayed signs of regeneration and healing, hinting that the victim may not have immediately succumbed to their wounds. To read about another discovery from a Spanish cave, go to "The Red Lady of El Mirón."
