Gruesome Find: 100 Bodies Stuffed into Ancient House [China]

www.livescience.com ^ | July 27, 2015 07:07am ET | by Owen Jarus

[Red Badger]

The 5,000-year-old house found in China was about 14 by 15 feet in size. Credit: Photo courtesy Chinese Archaeology

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The remains of 97 human bodies have been found stuffed into a small 5,000-year-old house in a prehistoric village in northeast China, researchers report in two separate studies.

The bodies of juveniles, young adults and middle-age adults were packed together in the house — smaller than a modern-day squash court — before it burnt down. Anthropologists who studied the remains say a "prehistoric disaster," possibly an epidemic of some sort, killed these people.

The site, whose modern-day name is "Hamin Mangha," dates back to a time before writing was used in the area, when people lived in relatively small settlements, growing crops and hunting for food. The village contains the remains of pottery, grinding instruments, arrows and spearheads, providing information on their way of life. [In Photos: Remains of 'End of World' Epidemic Found in Ancient Egypt]

"Hamin Mangha site is the largest and best-preserved prehistoric settlement site found to date in northeast China," a team of archaeologists wrote in a translated report published in the most recent edition of the journal Chinese Archaeology (the original report appeared in Chinese in the journal Kaogu). In one field season, between April and November 2011, the researchers found the foundations of 29 houses, most of which are simple one-room structures containing a hearth and doorway.

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Archaeologists found nearly 100 bodies in a small house in northeast China. The house burned down at some point, leaving some of the bodies charred and deformed. Credit: Photo courtesy Chinese Archaeology

[Secret Agent Man]

they found a planned parenthood logo across the front arch of the house.

[Red Badger]

Used parts recycling?.........................