29 October 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.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



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

The bronze age village Afragola buried by the Plinian eruption of mount Vesuvius 4,000 Years Ago

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Mount Vesuvius’ Plinian eruption about 4,000 years ago—2,000 years before it buried the Roman city of Pompeii—left remarkable preservation of...

Archaeologists Discovered One of the Earliest Christian Buildings in Bahrain

14 July 2024

14 July 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered one of the earliest known Christian buildings in the Arabian Gulf, located in Samahij, Bahrain, and providing...

Britain’s Largest Iron Age Gold Coin Hoard: A Possible Tribute to Julius Caesar?

16 May 2025

16 May 2025

In a stunning revelation, British authorities have recently announced the discovery of an unparalleled Iron Age coin hoard, a singular...

A 2,000-year-old monumental Roman villa Found Under a Seaside May Be Pliny the Elder’s house

23 January 2024

23 January 2024

Researchers have discovered the remnants of a massive Roman villa thought to have ties to Pliny the Elder while working...

Archaeologists unearth the Torah Ark of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, destroyed in Lithuania

30 August 2021

30 August 2021

In Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in excavation exposed the Torah ark and bimah (raised prayer platform) of the Great...

Two unique mid-14th-century shipwrecks discovered in Sweden

22 April 2023

22 April 2023

During an archaeological dig in western Sweden this summer, the remains of two medieval merchant vessels known as cogs were...

What If Ancient Statues Smelled Wonderful? The Surprising Secrets of Greco-Roman Sculptures

16 March 2025

16 March 2025

A new study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology has shed light on an often-overlooked aspect of ancient Greek...

Archaeologists Uncover Upper Part Colossal Statue of Ramses II

4 March 2024

4 March 2024

The joint Egyptian-American Archaeological Mission unearthed the upper part of the colossal statue of Ramses II (Ramesses), the lower part...

Academics Uncover Ancient Roman Physicians Galen’s Pharmacy Legacy in İzmir

27 February 2024

27 February 2024

As a part of research on medicinal plants in Bergama, İzmir’s historic district where Galen (129 AD -200 AD) once...

7.5 Million Annual Elephant Skulls Fossil Were Found in Turkey “Choerolophodon Pentelic”

17 March 2021

17 March 2021

A complete skull fossil from 7.5 million years ago was discovered on the bank of the Yamula Dam in the...

Rare Astrolabe Discovered in Verona Sheds Light On Islamic, Jewish, and Christian Scientific Exchange

6 March 2024

6 March 2024

An eleventh-century rare astrolabe bearing Arabic and Hebrew inscriptions was recently discovered in a museum in Verona, Italy. It dates...

4,000-year-old cylinder seal found in Blaundos excavations

29 September 2022

29 September 2022

A 4,000-year-old cylinder seal was found during the excavations of the ancient city of Blaundus (or Blaundos, as it is...

Three New Domus de Janas Unearthed in Sardinia: 5,000-Year-Old “Fairy Houses” Discovered

29 July 2025

29 July 2025

Hidden beneath the rugged landscapes of Sardinia lie the silent dwellings of an ancient world — the Domus de Janas,...

Archaeologists find sunken ancient Egyptian warship under Abu Qir Bay

26 July 2021

26 July 2021

According to a press release by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Egyptian French archaeological mission of the...

At Ostrowite, archaeologists have discovered a high-status burial dating back almost a thousand years

2 January 2022

2 January 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a burial chamber in Ostrowite, in Poland’s Pomeranian Voivodeship, containing several high-status grave goods from the 11th...