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Cannibalism Signs at Ancient Herxheim Site
(MYFOX NATIONAL) - Archaeologists have found evidence of mass cannibalism at the site of an ancient settlement in what is now southern Germany. WiredScience reports that as many as 500 human remains unearthed near the village of Herxheim may have been cannibalized.Researchers concluded that the "intentionally mutilated" remains from the early Neolithic period included children and unborn babies. The report published in the December issue of the journal Antiquity suggests that a social and political crisis in central Europe at that time triggered various forms of violence. "Human sacrifice at Herxheim is a hypothesis that's difficult to prove right now, but we have evidence that several hundred people were eaten over a brief period," anthropologist Bruno Boulestin of the University of Bordeaux in France said. The early Neolithic was the period when farming first spread in central Europe and the research team believes that cannibalism in Europe was likely to have been rare -- possibly carried out during periods of famine. Cannibalizing a[nd] human sacrifice has existed throughout recorded history and continues today in some remote areas of the world. Herxheim lies what, less than 50 kilometers from fantastic French cuisine. Classic Teutonic stubbornness. Posted by: Besoeker 2009-12-07 |
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