Did our ancestors practice cannibalism

It is often asked whether our ancestors were cannibals - whether they ate each other. In fact, there is not too much data on this topic - but not to say that it is too little.

Have breakfast with your friend

It is important that the monkeys eat each other regularly. This is done by baboons, who, however, are not very close to us, but nonetheless. Chimps are quite regularly involved in this - our closest relatives. Chimpanzees are of two kinds: ordinary and dwarf. Dwarf good, but the ordinary very often eat each other. Even members of their own group sometimes.

And now let's talk directly about our ancestors. The oldest evidence of cannibalism dates back to 1.5 to 2 million years ago. The most recent Australopithecus lived in South Africa - they are also the earliest Homo. That is, they represented a transition from one to another.

On one skull of Australopithecus - Stw 53, on the zygomatic bone, there are wonderful cuts made by stone tools. In later similar cases, archaeologists are inclined to doubt and say that "in ancient times there was such a funeral rite when cut and cut". But in the case of Australopithecus there are no such doubts: there is a case of cannibalism. Our ancestors of their kinsman wonderfully cut and, apparently, ate. Find teeth on the not very well-preserved bones can not be, but scientists have found cuts. So the very first representatives of our kind were engaged in cannibalism! By the way, this fact does not exclude at all that Australopithecus were good, as they ate most often not the closest friends and relatives, but representatives of neighboring groups, tribes and herds.

Cannibals from the Spanish Cave

At a later time, evidence of cannibalism is quite a lot. For example, they were engaged in our most direct ancestors in the location of Bodo in Ethiopia. Traces of scalping were found on one of the Ethiopian skulls - most likely, the unfortunate were killed and cut to pieces. There is no direct evidence of cannibalism, but nonetheless.

Direct evidence found in the Gran Valley Cave in Spain. Homo antecessor lived there - these are the ancestors of the Heidelberg people, who, in turn, are the ancestors of the Neanderthals. That is, it is almost the very first Europeans who lived almost a million years ago in Spain. And in this cave, bones with traces of cuts were found, scattered in the cultural layer mixed with the bones of animals. The most preserved remains of bones from a teenager - archaeologists have discovered pieces of his skull, spine and other parts of the body. Teen well cut - on the clavicle and other places there are cuts. That is, the very first representatives of our kind in Europe can also be considered cannibals.

The inhabitants of Asia also did not lag behind - for example, on some bones of classical synanthropes there are also traces of guns, traces of blows on skulls. And some bones even seem to be burned. True, it is difficult to verify this, because at the beginning of the Second World War, the Japanese either dragged off, drowned, or hid these bones - and now it is not known where they are. However, there are casts and descriptions by which cannibalism can be judged.

Further south, in Java, there is the location of Ngandong - nine skull boxes and various other fragments were found there - for example, the shin bones, also with traces of butchering and bumps. Most likely, there were also eating tribesmen.

“Bone marrow exhaustion is a favorite entertainment at all times”

We now turn to the Neanderthals. Nearly most of their remains have traces that can be interpreted as traces of cannibalism. Not all researchers agree. Some say that it is a cunning funeral rite, others say that it is natural damage. Still others consider it traces of the teeth of predators. Sometimes their versions are true, but most of the remains are really visible traces of incisions.

One of the most convincing evidence found in the cave Mula-Gersey. There, archaeologists have found the bones of several individuals, both adults and young. All of them are butchered, and their thighs are broken by some stone tools to suck out the bone marrow. Bone marrow exhaustion is a favorite entertainment at all times, because it is fat, high-calorie, nutritious and tasty. I recommend everyone (not human, of course !!!).

Neanderthals ate, most likely, not relatives, but the closest neighbors. Another evidence is found in the El Cidron cave in Spain. Several people were killed there - DNA was isolated from all of them. And scientists have proven that it was a related group. That is, it was the simultaneous murder of a whole group of people, there were both men, women, and children. Judging by mitochondrial DNA, these were brothers, their wives, brought from somewhere, and children. And they all ate them in a wonderful way.

Primitive genocide

In Krapina cave in Croatia - the same story. A huge pile of bones scattered along with the bones of animals. Everything is broken and trampled - and it is difficult to calculate how much a person was there. But it is clear that a lot.

In general, these are all examples of such a "Neanderthal genocide." Neanderthals have always lived in small groups - and we see evidence of the destruction of these groups in full force. Question: how did they manage to win? If one group of 30 people attacks another group of 30 people, then the forces should be more or less equal. But maybe Neanderthals were cunning - they attacked at night, cut, sneaked up. In principle, they were animal hunters and, probably, other Neanderthals were regarded simply as prey.

And now we come to the most interesting. Were such clashes between Neanderthals and sapiens? We often hear that when Cro-Magnon men came to Europe, they staged a genocide and massacred all Neanderthals. Sometimes a romantic haze is fired: the Neanderthals supposedly a la the aborigines lived in harmony, and then the Cro-Magnons arrived and killed everyone. In fact, the Cro-Magnons were not meaner than Neanderthals. And, moreover, Cro-Magnon cannibalism is much less common. So we can be proud of our ancestors! They ate each other less often and more often put deep meaning into cannibalism. That is, they did not just eat their fellow tribesmen, but did it ritually, with a sense of sublime in their heads.

Was there a Neanderthal girl?

And yet we do not know whether the Neanderthals were in conflict with the Cro-Magnons, and who defeated them. On the one hand, the time of the existence of Neanderthals over several thousand years overlaps with the time of the existence of the Cro-Magnons. On the other hand, it is precisely in this time interval that there are no traces of cannibalism. And those that are, it is impossible to disassemble - who did kill someone. If we had a Cro-Magnon skeleton with the Neanderthal bones gnawed in his teeth, then we would talk about cannibalism.

However, there is one remarkable find - when a bone was found in the upper Paleolithic layer in the French cave Les Royce, which in many ways resembled Neanderthal. This is the girl's lower jaw with incisions. Tools, like, more or less Cro-Magnon. This find was interpreted as killing a Neanderthal Cro-Magnon girl. But the bone is badly damaged, and to prove that it was completely Neanderthal does not work out very well. Besides, this is not the whole skeleton of a girl.

In general, perhaps, the Cro-Magnon and eat up Neanderthals, but the confirmation of this is one, and even then - rather dubious. But we have no strict evidence.

Hunger is not the aunt

When the sapiens were established around the world, they continued the “good traditions” that go back to chimpanzees and all ancient ancestors. But they did this sapiens with more imagination. Much evidence of cannibalism has been found in the Middle East - special heads were found there, laid in special pits in a special order. Of these, even something is mounted. Most likely, there was cannibalism, not only in terms of food, but also from a ritual point of view.

Although hunger is not an aunt, and periodically, when there was little food and there was little food, people ate each other. We hope they will stop doing this, and in the future a person will not engage in such a bad business.