A group of researchers recently conducted isotopic analyses on Neolithic remains found over a decade ago in a burial pit. Some of the remains showed signs of brutal violence. The new study, published in Scientific Advances, set out to uncover more about the people’s personal lives, and to determine which individuals met a gruesome demise and which did not suffer violence.
Victims Belonged to Adversarial Tribes
Using samples of teeth and bone from the 82 individuals found interred in the burial pit, researchers analyzed the remains of both individuals who had been tortured and dismembered and those who met natural ends. They discovered that the victims who were violently killed seemed to subsist on a diet different from those who received a more traditional burial.
Scientists believe this indicates that some of the individuals were nomadic and not members of the community. They contend that the murders were “war-related,” with the dismemberment and mutilation serving as a sort of macabre trophy for the killers. The researchers say this is “one of the earliest well-documented instances of martial victory celebrations in prehistoric Europe.”
“The most likely scenario is that the severed upper limbs were trophies taken from the bodies of enemies fallen in battle or raids immediately after death and brought to the village,” the study explained. “Heads and hands seem to be the most common human trophies documented in the archaeological record, although written and ethnographic sources often refer to other body parts, including soft tissues which would not generally preserve, such as scalps, ears, or genitals,” the authors continued.
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Warriors Driven to Kill, “Dehumanized Image” of Enemies
According to the authors, the violence was made relatively socially acceptable due to the tribe’s “othering” of disparate factions. “Victims may have addressed spiritual goals (e.g., provided food and slaves for ancestors or gods), legitimized political authority through the display of merciless brutality, and paid tribute to glory,” the study explained. “The dehumanized image created of the enemy—commonly portrayed as depraved and evil, thus meriting cruelty and retaliation—during protracted conflict would enable perpetrators to kill and maim and the rest of the community to support such actions through moral disengagement. The fear of what happens if a demonized enemy is not overcome—or at least contained—would become a justification for perpetuating or even escalating violence.”
