6 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Stone Age women in Europe were tied up and buried alive in ritual sacrifices

New research has identified over a dozen murders where women were traditionally sacrificed in Neolithic Europe across a period of 2,000 years.

The murder of sacrificial victims by “incaprettamento” — tying their neck to their legs bent behind their back, so that they effectively strangled themselves — seems to have been a tradition across much of Neolithic Europe.

The study follows a reevaluation of an old tomb found in southern France’s Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, close to Avignon, more than 20 years ago. Two women who were buried there approximately 5,500 years ago are buried in a tomb that resembles a silo, or pit used to store grain.

Researchers started by studying skeletons excavated at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, a Neolithic tomb. Three of the remains belonged to women that the team determined were forced into positions that caused them to asphyxiate; at least one of the women may have been buried alive

The team then scoured existing studies for similar cases of unusual burial practices in Stone Age Europe with abnormally positioned bodies.

Archaeologists sought more evidence to ascertain whether the women’s deaths, though clearly violent, were part of a larger Neolithic tradition that was probably connected to agricultural practices.

View taken from the upper part of the 255 storage pit showing the three skeletons, with one individual in a central position (Woman 256 1) and the other two placed under the overhang of the wall (Woman 2 and Woman 3) Image Credit: Ludes et al., Sci. Adv. 10, eadl3374
View taken from the upper part of the 255 storage pit showing the three skeletons, with one individual in a central position (Woman 256 1) and the other two placed under the overhang of the wall (Woman 2 and Woman 3) Image Credit: Ludes et al., Sci. Adv. 10, eadl3374

They then assessed existing anthropological and archaeological literature and found reports from 14 sites across Eastern Europe to Catalonia of similar burials. Additionally, rock art from Sicily dating back to the even earlier Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age) appears to depict figures bound in a similar manner.

Further investigation found that squeezing the breath out of people was already a ritualized form of homicide for 2,000 years by the time the Rhône Valley victims died between 6,000 and 5,500 years ago.

The study highlights the presence of agricultural symbolism surrounding the tomb. This suggests the sacrifice might have been linked to agricultural practices during the Neolithic period (New Stone Age).

“The principal challenge in archaeology, especially in prehistory where written records are absent, is distinguishing ritual sacrifice from other forms of ritualized violence,” the study authors wrote. Their research is published today in Science Advances.

According to researchers, the practice of killing probably began as a sacrificial custom before agriculture, and it was later employed for human sacrifices connected to farming in the Neolithic era.

This discovery offers a glimpse into a dark aspect of Neolithic European societies and their ritualistic practices. The study’s findings raise further questions about the motivations behind these sacrifices and their connection to the development of agriculture.

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl337

Cover Photo: The tomb at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux near Avignon contains the skeletons of three women who were buried there in about 5400 B.C. Image credit: Ludes et al., Sci. Adv. 10, eadl3374

Related Articles

Over 20 terracotta warriors have been discovered in the Terracotta Army pit in China

24 January 2022

24 January 2022

More than 20 Terracotta Warriors were unearthed from the Terracotta Army pit in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province, according to...

Famous  Roman Dictator Julius Caesar’s Perfume Recreated

2 August 2024

2 August 2024

The Romans are long regarded as heroes in the history of ancient civilizations because of the legacy they have left...

A stone bathtub, which is considered to be the first example of ‘water birth’, was found in Ani Ruins

7 September 2022

7 September 2022

A stone tub was found in the large bath, whose birth was mentioned in a work by the Turkish scholar...

Archaeologists discovered floor mosaics with early Christian designs in Roman town of Marcianopolis, in Bulgaria

16 January 2024

16 January 2024

Archaeologists discovered floor mosaics with early Christian designs and nearly 800 artifacts in the archaeological reserve of Marcianopolis in Devnya,...

Archaeologists Found Evidence of a Lost Temple in Chorazin Linked to Jesus’ Healing Miracles

12 August 2024

12 August 2024

Recent archaeological excavations in Israel may have unearthed the remains of a long-lost temple, believed to be the very site...

Oldest Aboriginal pottery discovered in Far North Queensland

10 April 2024

10 April 2024

More than 2000 years ago, Aboriginal Australians were producing ceramics on a secluded island about 35 kilometers off the coast...

1700-year-old weaving workshop discovered in southeast Turkey

4 December 2021

4 December 2021

Excavations carried out in the ancient city of Perre in the southeastern province of Adıyaman have unearthed a 1,700-year-old weaving...

Southeast Asia’s oldest stringed instrument may be a 2,000-year-old antler

21 February 2023

21 February 2023

Archaeologists unearth a 2,000-year-old stringed instrument made from deer antler in southern Vietnam. This unusual deer antler may be one...

The Temple of Persian Water Goddess Anahita Discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan

8 March 2024

8 March 2024

Archaeologists excavating the Rabana-Merquly mountain fortress in what is present-day Iraqi Kurdistan suggest that it may also have served as...

A Roman statue of the sea god Triton discovered near A2, London Road

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman Statue of Triton during excavations in preparation for a housing development in Kent, England. Archaeologists...

Sorcery in Australian Cloggs Cave may be World’s Oldest Known Culturally Transmitted Ritual

1 July 2024

1 July 2024

Two sticks found in a cave in Australia show signs of processing that perfectly match Aboriginal sorcery and curse-making practices...

Archaeologists Unearth Cisterns at Izmir’s Ancient “City of Mother Goddess”

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

In the ancient city of Metropolis, in western Turkey, in the province of Izmir, something that played an important role...

In the excavations at Tepecik Mound in Aydın, Türkiye, a palace-like structure dating back to the 13th century BCE was discovered

13 August 2023

13 August 2023

Excavations at Tepecik Mound in the Çine district of Aydın province, located in the western part of Turkey, revealed a...

Archeologists Unearth Spectator snacks from the Roman Period in Colosseum

28 November 2022

28 November 2022

An excavation of the Colosseum’s sewer systems has uncovered a selection of spectator snacks from the Roman Period. It appears...

Origin of Ivory Rings Found in Elite Anglo-Saxon Burials

2 July 2023

2 July 2023

An elite class of ancient Anglo-Saxon women were buried with hundreds of ivory rings, and the origin of these ivory...