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+--- Thread: Research Cannibalism returned to the menu multiple times in Neolithic Europe (/thread-21290.html)
Cannibalism returned to the menu multiple times in Neolithic Europe - C C - Sep 9, 2026
https://www.popsci.com/science/neolithic-cannibalism-europe/
EXCERPTS: As researchers explained in a study recently published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, a range of methods and motivations for cannibalism existed among Neolithic peoples prior to the Bronze Age.
“For decades, prehistoric cannibalism has tended to be interpreted as a single type of behavior,” Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo, a study co-author and archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology of Mérida, explained in a statement. “Our work shows that it is not possible to speak of a single form of ‘Neolithic cannibalism’, because similar archaeological evidence may conceal very different social realities.”
[...] Although many bones show similar butchering techniques and boiling preparations, each cave’s specimens highlighted different practices and contexts. At Malalmuerzo, it appears that a single, brutal act of collective violence involving victims across many age groups took place about 5000 BCE. However, the remains at Carigüela span multiple Neolithic time periods, and even include a pair of skulls fashioned into drinking cups. The most recent cannibalism occurred in Majolicas around 3800 BCE, but doesn’t appear directly tied to violence. Instead, some of the bones are stained red—likely using a rare mineral called cinnabar—which points to ritualistic or funerary motives.
Combined with other archaeological findings, it now appears that cannibalism during the European Neolithic historically occurred in three eras:the late sixth millennium BCE, the middle fifth millennium BCE, and the end of the third millennium BCE. Although traceable to these periods, it still remains unclear why the communities engaged in the practices and rituals... (MORE - missing details)