Archaeological evidence from three Stone Age caves in southern Spain reveals a long-standing practice of cannibalism that persisted over many generations. According to a recent study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, these communities consumed their deceased relatives as a regular food source, similar to how they processed wildlife and livestock, rather than due to famine or warfare.
Miguel Botella, an emeritus professor of physical and forensic anthropology at the University of Granada, led the research which began in 1972 at the Las Majolicas site. The team compared findings across three caves, identifying signs of cannibalism that occurred during occasionally overlapping time periods spanning from 5,300 to 3,760 B.C. Botella emphasized that the behavior was not driven by conflict, stating simply that the inhabitants ate cadavers after death.
The researchers analyzed a total of 967 human remains representing at least 60 individuals. The bones displayed distinct cut marks consistent with butchering techniques used for defleshing, meat removal, and chopping. Some skeletal fragments appeared to have been boiled, indicated by their whiter color and translucency, while others were smashed, likely to extract marrow. The analysis confirms that cannibalism was a consistent practice in the region over centuries, though with some technical variations between the sites.
Sources: The New York Times Science.