22 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

World’s Oldest Murder

Researchers found a mass grave in a cave in Spain, now known as Sima de los Huesos, or the Pit of Bones. When they put together 52 fragments of broken skulls, they made a surprising discovery.

No determination could be made regarding the gender or other characteristics of this skull, dating back 430,000 years. But the fractures in the merged skull showed that this person was killed.

Although it is possible that a skull, found deep in a cave, caused a fatal wound from a fall, researchers were sure that the victim was killed.

Scientists compared accidental falls and cases of inter-personal violence with modern data. They found that the only logical explanation should be a face-to-face attack by another person. They saw no evidence that the bones were starting to heal, is showing that the person died immediately or soon after being hit. The almost identical size and shape of the holes led them to believe that the cause of death was repeated blows to the head with the same object.

Researcher Nohemi Sala and colleagues identified the victim and the owners of other found bones as Homo heidelbergensis. Homo heidelbergensis is known as the ancestors of Neanderthals.



📣 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!!



World's Oldest Murder
World’s Oldest Murder.

Thus, the “world’s first murder” occurred 430,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene, when the first homo sapiens fossils appeared. The remains of the victim were found in the “Bone Pit” in the Atapuerca Mountains of Spain.

In a research article published in PLOS One in 2015, using three-dimensional analysis, they brought it together with the breaks that occurred at the time of death or after death. Skull recesses indicated that the cause of death was ‘blunt force trauma to the head at the time of death’. It seems that an attacker hit the victim at least twice with the same object. Of course, even if it was murder, it was now impossible to know who the murder suspect was.

While some scientists believe that what has been found in the “bone pit” indicates a mass murder, Researcher Nohemi Sala and colleagues noted that the results did not indicate such a situation. They noted that the area looked more like a ceremonial burial site than a crime scene, that Homo heidelbergensis had a bit of a ritual feel and did not leave the dead to rot on the ground.

Source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0126589 you can read the full article.

Related Articles

A 2,000-Year-Old Shoe Discovered in a German Bog

22 June 2021

22 June 2021

Archaeologists discovered a leather shoe that had been lost in a bog for 2,000 years and believe it may have...

Arrowhead from the Biblical Battle Discovered in the Hometown of the Giant Goliath’s

30 May 2021

30 May 2021

A bone arrowhead discovered in the ancient Philistine city of Gath might have been used fired off by the city’s...

Medieval Ring with a Skull Emblem Found in Wales and The Gold Coins are Declared Treasure

11 April 2021

11 April 2021

Located in wales nine treasure finds dating from the medieval and post-medieval periods have been declared treasure. Metal detectors in...

Sensational Find: 900-year-old Picture Stone! Is Depicted Figure the Legendary Bishop Otto of Bamberg?

19 August 2024

19 August 2024

During construction work in Klotzow (Vorpommern-Greifswald district), one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in recent years has...

Archaeologists discovered a Thracian tomb from the time of the Odrysian kingdom in southern Bulgaria

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

Archaeologists from the Haskovo Regional Museum of History discovered a third Thracian tomb with murals the likes of those in...

Roman Era Mosaic Unearthed in Illegal Excavation Near Zile Castle

13 May 2025

13 May 2025

A stunning mosaic has been unearthed during an illegal excavation near Zile Castle, located in the Tokat province of TĂĽrkiye,...

Hidden Gold and Silver Treasures Found Beneath 1,300-Year-Old Buddha Statue in Thailand

17 October 2025

17 October 2025

Archaeologists in Thailand have made an extraordinary discovery, unearthing a hidden trove of gold and silver treasures beneath a 1,300-year-old...

The 890-million-year-old sponge fossil may be the oldest animal yet discovered

1 August 2021

1 August 2021

890-million-year-old fossil sponges found in the “Little Dal” limestones of northwest Canada may be the oldest animal ever found. According...

Rare 6th-Century BCE Wash Basin ‘Louterion’ Discovered in Malta

11 September 2024

11 September 2024

Archaeological investigations, initiated by a proposal to build a 130-meter-long boulder revetment along the shore of Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk to...

Ancient Hittite Archives Unearthed at Kayalıpınar: 56 Cuneiform Tablets and 22 Seal Impressions Found

18 September 2025

18 September 2025

Archaeologists excavating the ancient Hittite city of Kayalıpınar (ancient Šamuḫa) in Sivas province have uncovered a remarkable collection of 56...

Rescue work begins on a 160-year-old shipwreck, the largest and best-preserved wooden shipwreck ever discovered underwater in China

3 March 2022

3 March 2022

Rescue work has begun on a 160-year-old shipwreck in China, the largest and best-preserved wooden wreck ever discovered underwater. This...

Failed Mongol fleet may actually land in Japan after 800 years

18 July 2023

18 July 2023

A  recent shipwreck was found off the coast of Japan this year and identified as part of a Mongol fleet...

Oldest Recorded Gynecological Treatment

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

In their latest research, scientists have come across a treatment practice in a mummy from 4000 years ago, as written...

A Christian monastery, possibly pre-dating Islam, found in UAE

6 November 2022

6 November 2022

A Christian monastery has been discovered on the island of Siniyah off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE),...

2000-Year-Old Roman Origins Confirmed for Elche’s Monumental L’Assut de l’Argamassa Dam

17 May 2025

17 May 2025

An archaeological research project has unveiled that the imposing L’Assut de l’Argamassa dam in Elche, Spain, long suspected to be...