Gruesome evidence of cannibalism in Poland 18,000 years ago

[Judi Lynn]

3. Paleolithic culture cannibalized their enemies -- and maybe their friends as well

Paleolithic culture cannibalized their enemies — and maybe their friends as well

by Mihai Andrei
February 12, 2025
Reading Time: 6 mins read
Edited and reviewed by Zoe Gordon

In the 19th century, archaeologists in Poland unearthed a stunning cave filled with prehistoric secrets. The Maszycka Cave, as it’s called, once sheltered Magdalenian people 18,000 years ago. Now, a new study offers compelling evidence that the cave was the site of a grisly ritual — or perhaps something even darker. Did these ancient people consume their enemies?



We don’t know much about the Magdalenians, but what we do know is unsettling. Unlike earlier cultures that practiced more traditional burials, Magdalenian groups engaged in bizarre mortuary behaviors. These included on defleshing, disarticulation, and repurposing human bones. Some remains were crafted into artifacts like skull cups and personal ornaments, and others bore intricate carvings.

Scholars have debated whether these practices were purely ritualistic or had a more practical component. Maszycka Cave, located in southern Poland, provides a significant dataset for examining these questions.

Initial research in the 1990s posited that the site contained evidence of skull selection, possibly for ritual purposes. However, the latest analysis of newly examined postcranial remains, combined with a re-evaluation of cut marks and breakage patterns, suggests a more complex and possibly darker practice — cultural cannibalism.

Evidence for cannibalism
The latest study analyzed human remains from at least ten individuals — six adults and four juveniles. Astonishingly, two-thirds of the bones exhibit human-induced modifications, including cut marks, percussion marks, and breakage patterns consistent with marrow extraction.

More:
https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/paleolithic-culture-cannibalized-their-enemies-and-maybe-their-friends-as-well/