Archaeology horror as human bones discovery leads to 6,000-year-old cannibal theory

Archaeologists working in Spain have made a horrific discovery that has shone a chilling light on violence and conflict among groups in the Neolithic period. Researchers stumbled on a pile of human bones while digging in the El Mirador cave, which showed clear signs of cannibalism.

These included human bite marks as well as knife cuts and fractures for marrow extraction. The bones exhibited signs of having been boiled, according to a study published by the team in the Scientific Reports journal. The human remains belonged to at least 11 people, including children, and are between 5,573 and 5,709 years old.

Researchers believe the remains could belong to a large family who were killed, skinned and then cooked in the cave, before being eaten by their contemporaries.

The gruesome event is believed to have taken place in the dying days of the Neolithic - or New Stone Age - period. Researchers believe the cannibalism was provoked by conflict and was not the result of ritual or famine.

"This was neither a funerary tradition nor a response to extreme famine," said study co-author Francesc Marginedas, who is an IPHES evolutionary anthropologist and quaternary archaeologist.

"The evidence points to a violent episode, given how quickly it all took place - possibly the result of conflict between neighbouring farming communities," he added.

The archaeologists had the bones chemically analysed, which helped to reveal the identities of the victims. The results indicated that the individuals were from the local region and were most likely a nuclear or extended family.

The family members were between seven to 50-years-old, and most likely were killed over a short period of time.

The discovery offers a rare insight into conflict-driven cannibalism during the Neolithic period, which lasted until around 2000 BC.

"Conflict and the development of strategies to manage and prevent it are part of human nature," said study co-author, archaeologist and IPHES researcher Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo.

"Ethnographic and archaeological records show that even in the less stratified and small-scale societies, violent episodes can occur in which the enemies could be consumed as a form of ultimate elimination."