It is such a fascinating and mysterious discovery made in 2016 an international team of archaeologists in northeast France. The remains of eighty-two people buried in pits between 4,300 and 4,150 BC were exhumed on the sites of Bergheim (Haut-Rhin) and Achenheim (Bas-Rhin), in Alsace. They have since been analyzed, offering a unique historical overview of an era when war was raging in the region.
The results of the study, which was published on August 20 in the journal Science Advances, show that these pits presented two types of remains. On the one hand, several pits brought together bodies which had been mutilated, their left -wing arms and hands dismembered, their fractured lower limbs. Some skeletons even had piercing holes, which could indicate that “The bodies had been placed on a spike to be exposed to the public after being tortured and killed”reports one of the co -allists of the Live Science online media.
On the other hand, right next to these morbid pits, were other somewhat different pits. The bodies which were buried there had no trace of mutilation.
Troubled period
To determine if the burial methods reflected the origins of people, the researchers analyzed the chemical signatures of the teeth and bones of the skeletons, in order to determine their place of growth and the food they consumed. As a result, mutilated people probably came from external regions to the northeast of current France-being around Paris-and would come from groups that were very traveling. Conversely, unattained individuals were natives.
What should we conclude? For archaeologists, there is little doubt: the unattainted bodies belonged to warriors who then defended their territory, before falling into battle and being buried with respect. The invaders, who would probably have lost the battle and had been taken prisoner, were tortured, mutilated and exhibited as trophies in the public square. A sort of celebration of martial victory, one of the first as well documented in prehistoric Europe.
This discovery is blessed bread for scientists, so much illustrates an era where disorders are increasing considerably on a European scale. There are indeed multiple other evidence of generalized conflicts in this region around 4,500 to 4,000 BC, with a highlight, on the continent’s scale, around 4,100 BCE.
Why was war raging so much at this period? Several responses exist, such as the strong climate volatility and the general demographic thrust from the south of France, causing disorders and migration. The Peoples of the Neolithic moved, met and clashed. Exactly as here, when invaders from the Paris region entered northeast France … at their own risk.
