3 April 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.

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

2,000-Year-Old Iron Age and Roman Treasures Found in Wales Could Point to an Unknown Roman Settlement

12 May 2023

12 May 2023

A metal detectorist found a pile of exceptionally preserved Roman and Iron Age objects buried 2,000 years ago in a...

World’s Oldest Place Name Signs

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

Throughout the history of the world, our interest and curiosity in ancient cultures and lives continue to increase day by...

A Unique 2000-Year-Old Oil Lamp Found in Israel

5 May 2021

5 May 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a rare 2,000-year-old oil lamp in David, Jerusalem. Archaeologists have discovered a rare oil lamp, shaped like...

Viking Dentistry Was Surprisingly Advanced And Not Unlike Today’s Treatments

15 December 2023

15 December 2023

Viking Age teeth at Varnhem indicate surprisingly advanced dentistry, according to the results of a study conducted at the University...

1,800-year-old wooden mask likely used in farm festivals found in Japan

25 April 2023

25 April 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed an almost perfectly preserved wooden mask from the early third century at the Nishi-Iwata ruins in Osaka...

A New Hypothesis Tries to Explain What Triggers People’s Big Brains

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The big brain is the decisive feature of our species. Not only are they the most complex organs in the...

Archaeologists find 2,000-year-old eyeshadow and blush in ancient Roman city of Aizanoi

24 September 2023

24 September 2023

Archaeologists discovered rare makeup products of 10 different colors and different sorts of hair accessories and jewelry during excavations at...

An Etruscan Home Discovered in Corsica “First-Of-Its-Kind Find for the Island”

11 July 2024

11 July 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the first Etruscan domestic structure, dating to the 6th to 4th centuries BC, off the east coast...

1400-year-old artifacts discovered in the ancient city of Uzuncaburç (Diocaesarea)

26 January 2022

26 January 2022

During the excavations carried out in a tower in the ancient city of Uzuncaburç (Diocaesarea) in Mersin province in the...

In Bergama, the City of Greek Gods, the People Kept the Cult of Cybele Alive

25 August 2021

25 August 2021

The figurines of Cybele, the goddess of the fertility of Anatolia, and the presence of sanctuaries unearthed in the Ancient...

Archaeologists have uncovered the first human representations of the people of mythical Tartessos

19 April 2023

19 April 2023

Archaeologists representing Spain’s National Research Council (CSIS) excavating at the site of Casas del Turunuelo have uncovered the first human...

Horse cemetery in Westminster revealed as likely resting place for elite imported animals

25 March 2024

25 March 2024

Archaeological analysis of a medieval horse cemetery discovered in London nearly 30 years ago has revealed the international scale of...

3500-year-old menhir discovered in Mahbubabad, India

15 March 2022

15 March 2022

Six feet in height stone, also called a menhir, was found on the roadside of Ellarigudem, a hamlet of Beechrajupally...

2,200-year-old Greek sling bullet may have been used against Jews

9 December 2022

9 December 2022

A 2,200-year-old lead sling bullet was discovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the central Israeli city of Yavne,...

Unique Iron & Viking-Age Mortuary Houses Found in Norway

28 August 2024

28 August 2024

While building a road in the village of Vinjeøra in central Norway, three ancient mortuary houses dating back to the...