An international team of researchers studying human bones from Maszycka Cave have identified evidence of cannibalism.
The researchers suggest that this unsettling behavior may have several explanations, including complex rituals or conflicts between groups.
As if that wasnt enough, the skeletal fragments were originally discovered among the remains of other eaten animals.
Remains with evidence of cannibalism from the Maszycka Cave.© Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo / IAM (CSIC-Junta de Extremadura)
At the moment, five Magdalenian period sites across Europe testify to cannibalistic events.
Cannibalism is a behavior documented at various moments in human evolution.
TheMadgalenian periodtook place in the wake of the last glacial maximumthe coldest period of the last ice age.
Cut marks and fractures on the bone fragments from the Maszycka cave. © Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo / IAMx (CSIC-Junta de Extremadura)
The researchers argue that some of these conflicts could have escalated to cannibalism.
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