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News18
2 days ago
- Health
- News18
Ancient Humans Cannibalised Children 850,000 Years Ago, Scientists Find Butchered Remains
Last Updated: Archaeologists found evidence of infant cannibalism from 850,000 years ago at Gran Dolina cave. A human neck bone with cut marks indicated intentional decapitation. Spanish archaeologists found evidence of 'infant cannibalism', around 850,000 years ago. Researchers discovered a human neck bone while digging at the Gran Dolina cave site in Atapuerca, northern Spain. The remains shows clear cut marks consistent with intentional decapitation. 'This case is particularly striking, not only because of the child's age, but also due to the precision of the cut marks," says Dr. Palmira Saladié, IPHES-CERCA researcher and co-director of the Gran Dolina excavation alongside Dr. Andreu Ollé. The IPHES researchers also mentioned that some bones also show defleshing marks and intentional fractures, typical indicators of meat exploitation similar to those found on animal bones consumed by these same humans. 'The vertebra presents clear incisions at key anatomical points for disarticulating the head. It is direct evidence that the child was processed like any other prey," Saladié added. The child was a Homo antecessor, a species that was the last link between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. Several of the other bones found over the years have cut marks. The archaeologists are certain that our ancestors were cannibals and ate children. view comments First Published: July 27, 2025, 10:18 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Science
- NDTV
Ancient Humans Ate Children 850,000 Years Ago, New Discovery Reveals
In a remarkable scientific discovery, Spanish archaeologists have found evidence that human ancestors ate children, some 850,000 years ago. Digging at the Gran Dolina cave site in Atapuerca, northern Spain, the researchers discovered a human neck bone belonging to a child aged between two and four years old, with clear butchery marks, suggesting that the small children may have been devoured clean. The team from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) stated that the site of the marks on the neck bone suggests the youngster was decapitated. Notably, the body parts of the child belong to Homo antecessor, believed to be the last common ancestor of both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. "This case is particularly striking, not only because of the child's age, but also due to the precision of the cut marks," said Dr Palmira Saladie, the co-director of the excavation. "The vertebra presents clear incisions at key anatomical points for disarticulating the head. It is direct evidence that the child was processed like any other prey." Although cannibalism is well documented in early humans, it is unusual to find evidence of a child being eaten. If the discovery stands verified, it could mark the earliest evidence of the practice found to date. 'What we are documenting now is the continuity of that behaviour: the treatment of the dead was not exceptional, but repeated,' said Ms Saladie. Stockier and shorter on average than modern humans, the Homo antecessor lived between 1.2 million and 800,000 years ago. Their brain size was roughly between 1,000 and 1,150 cubic centimetres, which is smaller than the average 1,350 cubic centimetres brain size of people today. "The new find reinforces the hypothesis that these early humans exploited their congeners as a food resource," the researchers stated. 'Every year we uncover new evidence that forces us to rethink how our ancestors lived, how they died, and how the dead were treated nearly a million years ago.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Our ancestors were CANNIBALS: Scientists discover grisly evidence ancient human species ate children 850,000 years ago
Ancient human ancestors ate small children 850,000 years ago, a gruesome discovery suggests. Archaeologists working at the Gran Dolina cave site in Atapuerca, northern Spain, have unearthed a human neck bone belonging to a child who died sometime between the ages of two and four. It features clear butchery marks, providing direct evidence the infant was decapitated and cannibalised, they said. The vertebra was found with other bones and teeth belonging to Homo antecessor - thought to be the last common ancestor of both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. It was uncovered by a team from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), who have been excavating the site for over three decades. Nearly a third of all bones found in the cave so far have cut marks that suggest these early humans were cannibals. 'This case is particularly striking, not only because of the child's age, but also due to the precision of the cut marks,' Dr Palmira Saladié, co-director of the Gran Dolina excavation. 'The vertebra presents clear incisions at key anatomical points for disarticulating the head. It is direct evidence that the child was processed like any other prey.' Experts say it is unusual to find evidence of a child being eaten and - if their theory is true - the discovery marks the earliest evidence of the practice to date. Homo antecessor lived between 1.2 million and 800,000 years ago and were stockier and shorter on average than modern humans. Their brain sizes were roughly between 1,000 and 1,150 cm³, which is smaller than the average 1,350 cm³ brains of people today. The species is believed to have been right-handed, making it different from other apes, and may have used a symbolic language, according to archaeologists. The site of the marks on the recently-discovered neck bone suggests the youngster was decapitated, the researchers said. Other adult bones recovered from the site show evidence of de-fleshing marks and intentional fractures, similar to those found on animal bones consumed by humans. 'The preservation of the fossil surfaces is extraordinary,' Dr Saladié told Live Science. 'The cut marks on the bones do not appear in isolation. Human bite marks have been identified on the bones — this is the most reliable evidence that the bodies found at the site were indeed consumed.' The new findings strengthen the idea that these early humans exploited their peers as a food resource, the team said. It could also have been a means of territorial control. The most recent Homo antecessor remains were discovered at 'Level TD6' of the excavation site, at least 4 metres (13 feet) below the surface. 'Every year we uncover new evidence that forces us to rethink how they lived, how they died, and how the dead were treated nearly a million years ago,' Dr Saladié said. Earlier evidence of cannibalism among early human relatives dates to 1.45 million years ago in Kenya. Some archaeologists suggest that before formal burials, human populations would eat the dead as part of a funerary ritual. 'What we are documenting now is the continuity of that behaviour: the treatment of the dead was not exceptional, but repeated,' Dr Saladié added. Previous examinations of skulls found at Cheddar Gorge, in Somerset, reveal early Britons were also cannibals and enjoyed drinking out of cups made form their victims' heads. The cups, which date back 14,700 years, were likely used to drink water or even blood. They may have been fashioned from the heads of vanquished enemies and used as trophies. It is also possible that they were by-products of 'crisis cannibalism' - the resorting to human flesh when little or no other food was available, the study, published in Plos One, said. To make the skull cups, the flesh and features were carefully stripped from the head, and the skulls fashioned into containers using flint 'razors' and cobble 'hammers'. WHO WERE THE HOMO ANTECESSORS? Homo antecessor is one of the earliest known varieties of human discovered in Europe, dating as far back as one million years ago. Believed to have weighed around 14 stone, Homo antecessor was said to have been between 5.5 and 6ft tall. Their brain sizes were roughly between 1,000 and 1,150 cm³, which is smaller than the average 1,350 cm³ brains of modern humans. The species is believed to have been right-handed, making it different from other apes, and may have used a symbolic language, according to archaeologists who found remains in Burgos, Spain in 1994. How Homo antecessor may be related to other Homo species in Europe has a subject of fierce debate. Many anthropologists believe there was an evolutionary link between Homo ergaster and Homo heidelbergensis. Archaeologist Richard Klein claims Homo antecessor was a separate species completely, that evolved from Homo ergaster. However, others claim Homo antecessor is actually the same species as Homo heidelbergensis, who lived in Europe between 600,000 and 250,000 years ago in the Pleistocene era. In 2010 stone tools were found at the same site in Happisburgh, Norfolk, believed to have been used by Homo antecessor. Scientists believe that these early human species would breed with one another on a regular basis. Dr Matthias Meyer, a palaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany said: 'The evolutionary history of archaic humans in the Middle Pleistocene was quite complex. 'It could be that both the ancestors of the Sima people and Denisovans interbred with another archaic group like Homo antecessor or Homo erectus.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Western Europe's oldest human face discovered in Spain
The research team at the Atapuerca archaeological sites in Burgos, Spain, has just broken its own record by discovering, for the third time, the oldest human in Western Europe. The team did so for the first time in 1994, when they unearthed the remains of a new human species, which they named Homo antecessor, at the TD6 level of the Gran Dolina site. These fossils, dated to around 900,000 years ago, challenged the previous notion that the earliest human presence in Western Europe was no older than half a million years. Beyond the numbers, Homo antecessor also had a surprisingly modern-looking face. The Gran Dolina hominids exhibited a flat face that was, despite their antiquity, very similar to that of our own species, Homo sapiens. In a beautiful scientific paradox, Homo antecessor showed us the oldest face of modern humanity. In 2007, in the Sima del Elefante (Pit of the Elephant), a site no more than 300 metres from the Gran Dolina, the oldest human in Europe was found once again. This time it was a human jawbone, found in level TE9, dated to approximately 1.2 million years ago. The new jawbone, catalogued as ATE9-1, had a number of primitive features in the anterior part of the chin region and symphysis, which is logical given its great age. However, on the inner surface of the symphysis, the bone was vertical and more slender than expected, especially in comparison with other contemporary hominids. Even so, the fossil was too fragmentary to be assigned to any species, or even to confirm or rule out its belonging to Homo antecessor. ATE9-1 was therefore classified as Homo sp., a term which recognised its belonging to the genus Homo, but also accepted our inability to refine it further with the evidence available at the time. In 2022, against all odds, the excavation team at the Sima del Elefante site discovered the left half of a hominid face from level TE7. This fossil was found two and a half metres below the level where the ATE9-1 jawbone had been found, which meant that it was even older. Over the following two years, our interdisciplinary and multi-institutional team – with substantial support from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) and the National Centre for the Investigation of Human Evolution (CENIEH) – devoted itself to studying and restoring the fossil. We used both classical methods and advanced imaging techniques, including X-ray microtomography, which allowed us to visualise the interior of the fossils and manipulate them digitally without having to touch them. This meant we were able to reconstruct the puzzle, and compare it with other specimens without having to access the original fossils, which are scattered all over the world. The new fossil was nicknamed 'Pink', an allusion to Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon, which translates into Spanish as 'La cara oculta de la luna' – 'cara oculta' means 'hidden face'. I must also admit that the research team adopted this name in recognition of our colleague Rosa Huguet, researcher at IPHES-CERCA, coordinator of the work at the Sima del Elefante site, and the lead author of the study, published in the journal Nature – 'Rosa' is Spanish for 'pink'. The main conclusion of study just published in Nature is that Pink does not belong to the species Homo antecessor. The new fossil presents clear differences in the facial area, which is more robust and projected forward, in clear contrast with the slender face of the Gran Dolina hominids. Furthermore, we believe that in Pink the nose area was flattened and sunken, similar to that of the species Homo erectus and other non-human primates. However, ATE7-1, as Pink was officially catalogued, also has some characteristics that do not allow us to classify it directly as H. erectus, such as its comparatively narrower and shorter face shape. In view of these features, the Atapuerca team has decided to classify Pink as 'Homo affinis erectus' (abbreviated as H. aff. erectus). This term recognises its similarities to H. erectus, but leaves open the possibility that it may belong to another species altogether. This discovery reveals the existence of a human species that, until now, had not been documented in Europe. The European Pleistocene family photo album previously included H. antecessor, Neanderthals and modern humans. We can now add the slightly blurred photograph of a new relative, in the hope that further studies and more fossils will bring it into sharper focus. The discovery also leads us to reflect on the research that can and should be done. There is no doubt that Atapuerca is an exceptionally rich archaeological and palaeontological site. For years now, the caves in Burgos have shown their ability to capture evidence, however scarce and fragmentary, of each and every one of the periods in which Europe was inhabited. While luck does have a part to play in Atapuerca it is, above all else, tenacity and commitment that have made it such a significant area. Nothing is left to chance, and the site is proof that when you take science seriously, it yields results. In order for research in Atapuerca to prosper, it has taken time and constant dedication, both from the researchers and from the institutions that support it and ensure its sustainability. Let us hope that this achievement will give us the encouragement we need to continue to look towards new horizons. Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation, un sitio de noticias sin fines de lucro dedicado a compartir ideas de expertos académicos. Lee mas: We modelled how early human ancestors ran – and found they were surprisingly slow The first Europeans reached Ukraine 1.4 million years ago – new research How a giant prehistoric elephant skull helped untangle an evolutionary mystery The excavation and research team at Atapuerca receives funding from the Castille and León Department of Culture and Tourism, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PID2021-122355NB-C31, C32, C33 MCIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ FEDER, EU), and the Atapuerca Foundation.
