Daily Mail, 8 May 2019:
Ancient Polish grave could reveal a chilling 5,000-year-old story of how men returned from a hunt to find the women and children of their extended family had been ruthlessly massacred.
- A mass grave of 15 individuals, mostly women and children, was found in 2011
- The remains were part of the same, extended family and they died violently
- It is thought the men of the village were away when an attack was launched
Imagery credit: National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)
A prehistoric burial site has revealed the brutal massacre of the women and children of a large family in Poland 4,800 years ago. That’s the theory of researchers who have analysed the remains of a group of 15 prehistoric people uncovered near the village of Koszyce (just northeast of Krakow).
The tragic burial site is strangely lacking adult men and experts believe the women and children in the grave were murdered while the men were away.
They suggest they returned from a trip, perhaps a hunting expedition, to find their families slaughtered at the hands of a violent rival group.
The surviving warriors carefully arranged the remains of their loved ones , with mothers cradling their children and accompanied with jewellery and pets.
A prehistoric burial site has revealed the brutal massacre of the women and children of a large family in Poland 4,800 years ago. That’s the theory of researchers who have analysed the remains of a group of 15 prehistoric people. Pictured: Bones of the dead
Excavations in 2011 uncovered the mass grave and the smashed bones and caved skulls within revealed their violent deaths.
Analysis of the bones of the dead showed they all came from a group of interrelated families who lived around 2800 BC
Four of the women were buried alongside their children and, of the few men in the pit, four were half-brothers. The heart-ache for those who buried the slaughtered family members is expressed in how they are positioned, researchers suggest.
[...]
Genome analysis found the people to be farmers and the research, published in PNAS, says the Corded Ware people may have been to blame for the heinous act.
The groups shared DNA but the Corded Ware society was thriving and expanding rapidly across Europe, and this may have led to the slaughter of the neighbouring people.
The Corded Ware people are believed to have interbred and merged with the Yamnaya folk, who have recently been heralded as the most violent group of people to ever live.
Yamnaya culture emerged roughly 5,00 years ago in the European steppe and spread rapidly across the rest of the continent, destroying cultures and interbreeding.
Ancient DNA reveals these migrants were well nourished, tall and muscular. Some archaeologists also argue that the warrior tribe consisted of skilled horsemen.
‘It looks like they lived mostly on meat and milk products,’ Kristian Kristiansen at the University of Gothenburg told New Scientist. ‘They were healthier and probably physically quite strong
The globular Amphora people lived between 3400 and 2800 BC in central Europe.
They existed at the same time as the Corded Ware people and the Yamnaya.
They were farmers by trade, raiding livestock - especially pigs.
The settlements they lived in may have been small, rudimentary and temporary, researchers have found.
The culture had impressive burials, with large pits and gifts to accompany the dead.
These would often include animal remains and sacrifices.
It shared DNA with the Corded Ware society which was thriving and expanding rapidly across Europe.
These people also bred and mingled with the invading Yamnaya from the west, who were ruthlessly efficient muscular killers that swept across the continent.
