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After studying the skeletons of women unearthed in a tomb in the Rhone Valley of France, archaeologists discovered a pattern of ritualistic homicide that occurred during the Neolithic (or Stone) Age.
After studying the skeletons of women unearthed in a tomb in the Rhone Valley of France, archaeologists discovered a pattern of ritualistic homicide that occurred during the Neolithic (or Stone) Age.
The skeletons had essentially strangled themselves when they were discovered, with their necks tied to their legs behind their backs. The technique known as incaprettamento was common in Europe more than 2,000 years ago.
Scientists said that the investigation found over a dozen of these homicides. The tom under analysis was found more than 20 years ago and is located in Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux, close to Avignon in southern France.
Three women’s remains were placed in a tomb that resembled a silo, or pit used to store grain, approximately 5,500 years ago. According to the study team that examined the skeletons, the women were interred while still alive.
Biological anthropologist Eric Crubrezy of Toulouse, France’s Paul Sabatier University, discussed the discovery and stated that the slaughter had anything to do with agriculture. His team has examined similar tombs from sites that date from 3500 to 5400 BC and spread over Europe.
According to Mr Crubezy, it seems that incaprettamento began as a sacrificial practice in the Mesolithic era, before agriculture, and then evolved to be utilized for agriculturally related human sacrifices in the Neolithic era.
