Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Aug 9;12(8):e0182127.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182127. eCollection 2017.

An Upper Palaeolithic engraved human bone associated with ritualistic cannibalism

Affiliations

An Upper Palaeolithic engraved human bone associated with ritualistic cannibalism

Silvia M Bello et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Cut-marked and broken human bones are a recurrent feature of Magdalenian (~17-12,000 years BP, uncalibrated dates) European sites. Human remains at Gough's Cave (UK) have been modified as part of a Magdalenian mortuary ritual that combined the intensive processing of entire corpses to extract edible tissues and the modification of skulls to produce skull-cups. A human radius from Gough's Cave shows evidence of cut marks, percussion damage and human tooth marks, indicative of cannibalism, as well as a set of unusual zig-zagging incisions on the lateral side of the diaphysis. These latter incisions cannot be unambiguously associated with filleting of muscles. We compared the macro- and micro-morphological characteristics of these marks to over 300 filleting marks on human and non-human remains and to approximately 120 engraved incisions observed on two artefacts from Gough's Cave. The new macro- and micro-morphometric analyses of the marks, as well as further comparisons with French Middle Magdalenian engraved artefacts, suggest that these modifications are the result of intentional engraving. The engraved motif comfortably fits within a Magdalenian pattern of design; what is exceptional in this case, however, is the choice of raw material (human bone) and the cannibalistic context in which it was produced. The sequence of the manipulations suggests that the engraving was a purposeful component of the cannibalistic practice, implying a complex ritualistic funerary behaviour that has never before been recognized for the Palaeolithic period.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Site location and engraved human radius.
(A) Location of Gough’s Cave (UK). (B) Photo of the engraved radius M54074 (anterior, medial, posterior and lateral sides). (C) Drawing of the preserved portion of the radius showing the location of the engraving marks (in red), human tooth marks (blue dots) and percussion damage (blue arrows). (D) Sketch of the location of muscles and muscle insertions on a human radius.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Engraved artefacts from Gough’s Cave.
(A) engraved horse rib (BS27 3QF), ventral and dorsal views; (B) engraved hare (Lepus timidus) tibia (BS27 3QF), ventral and lateral views; (C) ‘bâton percé’ made from reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) antler (PAE 7782), front and rear views; (D) fragment of ‘bâton percé’ made from reindeer antler (PAE 7783), front and rear views. Engraving marks on artefacts A and B were measured for micro-morphometric comparisons with engravings on the human bone.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Details of the incisions on the engraved human bone.
(A-B) Photo and drawing of the engraving on the human radius M54074, with division into the four groups (A-D). (C) Scanning electron microscope images detailing the different types of incisions.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Details of the engraving design on the human radius.
Photo and scanning electron microscope composite image illustrating the directionality of single incisions and the overall directionality kept while producing the entire engraving. Red arrows indicate to-and-fro sawing incisions, blue arrows scraping incisions.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Micro-morphometric values of incisions measured on human and non-human bones from Gough’s Cave.
Graph of the micro-morphometric values of the width plotted against the depth of cut marks on large/small animals and human bones from Gough’s Cave (GC), and of incisions on engraved artefacts and the engraved human radius (M54074) from Gough’s Cave.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Drawings of Magdalenian engraved artefacts.
(A) Gough’s Cave radius (M54074); (B) Engraved lissoir (MAN 48716) from Brassempouy (France); (C) Engraved lissoir (Duru 35) from Duruthy (France); and (D-E) Engraved lissoirs (Ist 288 and Ist 284) from Isturitz (France). Drawing of the French artefacts were obtained from photos, courtesy of Claire Lucas [16]. All drawings were drafted by S.M.B.

References

    1. d’Errico F, Stringer CB. Evolution, revolution or saltation scenario for the emergence of modern culture? Phil Trans R Soc B. 2011; 366: 1060–1069. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0340 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Joordens JCA, d’Errico F, Wesselingh FP, Munro S, de Vos J, Wallinga J, et al. Homo erectus at Trinil on Java used shells for tool production and engraving. Nature. 2015; 518: 228–231. doi: 10.1038/nature13962 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Caron F, d’Errico F, Del Moral P, Santos F, Zilhão J. The reality of Neandertal symbolic behaviour at the Grotte du Renne, Arcy-sur-Cure, France. PLoS ONE. 2011; 6(6): e21545 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021545 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zilhão J, Angelucci D, Badal-Garcia E, d’Errico F, Daniel F, Dayet L, et al. Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian Neandertals. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA. 2010; 107: 1023–1028. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0914088107 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zilhão J. The Emergence of Ornaments and Art: An Archaeological Perspective on the Origins of “Behavioral Modernity”. J Archaeol Res. 2007; 15: 1–54.

LinkOut - more resources