Recent archaeological findings in Europe have shed new light on the practice of ritual human sacrifice during the Neolithic period. Researchers have identified multiple cases of what appears to be ligature strangulation or positional asphyxia at ritual sites from approximately 5500 to 3500 BCE.
Analysis of these findings suggests that human sacrifice was an integral part of the socio-religious structure of some Neolithic societies, particularly prevalent at gathering centers and sites related to food security and agricultural cycles. The victims’ bodies were often deposited in pits or silos in a manner indicating violent and ritualized death.
Through forensic techniques and phylogenetic analysis, researchers have been able to trace the evolution of these practices over nearly two millennia, from the Early Neolithic in Central Europe to the Middle Neolithic in Southern Europe. These discoveries challenge established interpretations of the role of human sacrifice in Neolithic agrarian societies and underscore the importance of a transdisciplinary approach to understanding these complex traditions.
In the context of European Neolithic, researchers have often interpreted these deaths as a form of servant sacrifice where ritual leaders killed subordinate individuals to accompany them in death.
However, an alternative view suggests that human sacrifice may have played a role in ideological integration within agrarian societies, rather than solely being a feature of hierarchical societies. Additionally, there have been suspicions that agrarian rituals during the European Neolithic would predominantly involve female participants.
One of the sites that has revealed particularly relevant evidence is Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux in the Rhone Valley, France, where the remains of three women were found in a highly unusual position.
Two of the women were found beneath the overhang of a well that appeared to have been built to resemble a storage silo. Their positions, with flexed legs and heads and necks wedged by fragments of millstones, suggest they may have died from positional asphyxia or “cardiac arrest due to prone restraint”.
These findings in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux are not unique. A comprehensive analysis of archaeological literature has revealed 20 probable cases of ligature strangulation or positional asphyxia at sites dating from the Early to Middle Neolithic (5500-3500 BCE) in various regions of Europe.
Sites where these cases were found often included features such as large numbers of silos, pottery from distant sites, remains of sacrificed animals, and broken millstones, indicating they were gathering and ritual celebration places related to food security and agricultural cycles.
These findings raise important questions about transcultural ritual and religious phenomena that may have developed from the Early Neolithic to the end of the Middle Neolithic, before being replaced in certain areas by the megalithic phenomenon.
While many questions remain unanswered, these archaeological discoveries reveal a dark and surprising aspect of Neolithic societies, where human sacrifice appears to have played an integral role in structuring their belief systems and power practices.
Sources
Bertrand Ludes, Ameline Alcouffe, et al., A ritual murder shaped the Early and Middle Neolithic across Central and Southern Europe. Science Advances vol.10 no.15, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl3374
- Share this article:
Discover more from LBV Magazine English Edition
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Biagio da Cesena, the Cardinal Caricatured by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel for Criticizing Nudity in His Paintings
There are historical figures who have gone down in history more for some inconsequential anecdote than for the significance they had in the context in which they lived. This is…
The Exceptional Roman Villa “Grotte di Catullo” on the Shores of Lake Garda is One of the Northernmost in Italy
Located at the northern tip of the Sirmione peninsula, on the shores of majestic Lake Garda in Italy, the ruins of the Roman villa known as Grotte di Catullo represent…
The Oldest Alliances in the World: Portugal-England and Scotland-France
Although geostrategic interests change throughout history, for many centuries, some alliances have defied the passage of time, remaining stable and renewing themselves as if they were unaffected by changing circumstances.…
Operation Argus: The U.S. Project to Create a Radiation Belt in Space to Prevent a Soviet Missile Attack
In 1958, at the height of the Cold War, the U.S. carried out an experiment in the South Atlantic aimed at testing an innovative defense system. This system involved creating…
Vercellae, the battle that led to the demise of Teutons and Cimbri peoples
In the year 105 BC, while Gaius Marius was awaiting a triumph for crushing the rebellion of the Numidian Jugurtha and hoping his contested candidacy for another consulship would be…
Sardanapalus, the Depraved Assyrian King Who Inspired Writers, Musicians, and Painters—Did He Really Exist?
There are historical figures who, for various reasons, transcend their status to become paradigms of something; in the case of the Assyrian king Sardanapalus, an archetype of corruption, debauchery, and…
Neolithic Silos and 60 Elongated Structures of Unknown Function Found in Northeastern France
Located in northeastern France, in the Alsace region, the Pfulgriesheim site has been the subject of extensive archaeological research prior to being developed for a new urban area. This excavation,…
Archaeologists Are Not Finding Late Roman and Anglo-Saxon Burials from the 5th Century in England – Where Are the Bodies?
A recent archaeological study explores an enigmatic question about the “missing” dead of the 5th century in Britain. A team of researchers, led by Emma Brownlee of the University of…
The Urban Layout, Buildings and Baths Uncovered in the Ancient Vacceo-Roman City of Saldania in Spain
Recent archaeological investigations, led by experts from the Institute of Archaeology of Mérida (IAM), have brought to light the remains of an ancient Vacceo-Roman city, hidden underground for more than…
Unknown Submerged Monumental Structures along with Shipwrecks and a Roman Altar, Found in the Grado Lagoon in Italy
Seven archaeological sites in the waters of the Grado lagoon (in the Italian province of Gorizia, bordering Slovenia), including shipwreck remains, a Roman-era funerary altar, and submerged monumental structures, have…
The Wall of the Ancient Greek City of Epetion and Bronze Age Structures Discovered in the Urban Center of Stobreč in Croatia
During an official visit to the town of Stobreč, near Split, Croatia’s Minister of Culture and Media, Dr. Nina Obuljen Koržinek, along with State Secretary Krešimir Partl, participated in the…
A new prehistoric culture found in a Spanish cave is the oldest evidence of Upper Paleolithic in the Iberian Peninsula
Archaeologists from the University of Valladolid have discovered in the Millán Cave, located in the northern Iberian Peninsula, in the Spanish province of Burgos, an Initial Upper Paleolithic lithic industry,…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
