Researchers in England uncovered the skeletal remains of 37 Bronze Age individuals, and further analysis indicated that not only were they violently murdered, but their remains may have also been consumed. This discovery could shed light on a darker side of early human history, according to the study published in the journal Antiquity.
The remains were initially found at the Bronze Age archeological site Charterhouse Warren, Somerset, in the 1970s. Over 3,000 bones were mixed together at the bottom of a 15-meter (about 50-foot) shaft. The bones were from men, women, and children and, according to researchers, were likely all part of a singular community. After examining the remains, the research team concluded that the individuals were brutally massacred before they were thrown down the shaft.
“We actually find more evidence for injuries to skeletons dating to the Neolithic period in Britain than the Early Bronze Age, so Charterhouse Warren stands out as something very unusual,” said Rick Schulting, a professor at the University of Oxford and lead author of the study, in a press release. “It paints a considerably darker picture of the period than many would have expected.”
A Bronze Age Butchering
Cutmarks on distal left humerus. Image credit: Schulting et al. Antiquity, December 2024. (Credit: Schulting et al. Antiquity, December 2024.)
The discovery of human remains is not uncommon across the U.K., as hundreds of skeletons dating from 2500 B.C.E. to 1500 B.C.E. have been uncovered, according to a press release. However, remains that indicate such violence are a rare find.
The skulls from Charterhouse Warren show signs of blunt force trauma, which likely could have been their cause of death. Further analysis of the remains by the international research team indicates that not only were the deaths violent, but the attackers may have consumed the human remains.
The team found the bones had cut marks usually associated with defleshing along with perimortem fractures — fractures to the bones after death. This suggests that the individuals may have been butchered and then cannibalized.
According to the study, there were signs of cutting and removing certain arm and leg bones from the torso. Atlas and axis vertebrae — located under the skull and in the neck — were also found with cut marks, indicating that some of the victims had been decapitated.
In addition to that, several smaller bones, such as hand and finger bones, had crushing fractures consistent with those caused by flat molars — like in humans — instead of sharp punctures typically caused by carnivores.
Read More: 4,000-Year-Old Bronze Age Teeth Chart The Changes In Human Diet Over Time
Why the Attack?
During the study, the research team tried to understand why this would have happened to a Bronze Age-era community. They noted that the remains showed no signs of fighting back, so it was likely that the attackers took the community by surprise.
But the question remains. Why was this community so violently attacked? There is little evidence of food and resource scarcity during that period. Plus, archeologists found cattle bones mixed in with the human remains in the Charterhouse Warren shaft, indicating the community had plenty to eat.
Thus, the researchers believe social matters may have caused the conflict. They think that the attackers may have consumed the community as a way to other them. By mixing the human bones with cattle bones, the attackers could have been implying that the community was nothing better than animals.
Read More: What Was the Neolithic Revolution, and How Did It Change Human Societies?
Bronze Age Communities Had Conflict
What were the social matters? It’s difficult to say. Tensions could have arisen for any number of reasons, but plague found on the teeth of a few children could help explain.
“The finding of evidence of the plague in previous research by colleagues from The Francis Crick Institute was completely unexpected,” said Schulting in a press release. “We’re still unsure whether, and if so how, this is related to the violence at the site.”
Though there is much to yet uncover about what happened to the people at the Charterhouse Warren site, the evidence does indicate that Bronze Age communities had their conflicts, too.
“Charterhouse Warren is one of those rare archaeological sites that challenges the way we think about the past,” said Schulting in a press release. “It is a stark reminder that people in prehistory could match more recent atrocities and shines a light on a dark side of human behavior. That it is unlikely to have been a one-off event makes it even more important that its story is told.”
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A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.
