A Polish site confirms that some groups were cannibals during the Madeleine period

2025/02/10 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Eboluzioa
• Arkeologia

By studying the human fossils of the Maszycka cave in Poland, the researchers conclude that for these human groups cannibalism was a cultural practice. The site was discovered in the 1980s. Among other things, fossils of four children and six adults from 18,000 years ago were found, along with animal bones. There were clear signs that human bones had removed their marrow and brain, while those of the animals had eaten the flesh.

At first, the researchers thought that human bones would be used for some kind of ritual. In fact, in other places, such as the Gough Cave (UK) and Brillenhöhl (Germany), vessels were made with skulls. However, in Maszycka, they have not seen this or any other clues that could be associated with rituals. On the contrary, the marks on the bones coincide with those they would have made when cutting meat with a tool. The bones are separated to remove the flesh from them and divided to remove the marrow. The skulls are also broken to remove the brains, and they did not try to make vessels with them.

After all, the bodies were manipulated at the time of their recent death to obtain nutrients: meat, marrow and cavities. Therefore, the researchers suggest that perhaps one group attacked another to deprive them of space and resources, and that in this context they were killed and eaten.
In fact, this type of cannibalism was not so rare, since traces of this type have also been found in other sites of the Madeleine period, as well as in other periods. In any case, they remember that cannibalism was heterogeneous. It has been published in open research in the journal Scientifics Reports of the group Nature.