Posted on 06/28/2017 8:56:06 PM PDT by BenLurkin
According to new research published in Science Advances, three Neolithic skull fragments discovered by archaeologists at Göbekli Tepe show evidence of a unique type of post-mortem skull modification at the site.
The deep, purposeful linear grooves are a unique form of skull alteration never before seen anywhere in the world in any context, says Julia Gresky, lead author on the study and an anthropologist at the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin. Detailed analysis with a special microscope shows the grooves were deliberately made with a flint tool. One of the fragments even has a hole drilled in it, resembling skull modifications made by the Naga people of India who used the hole to hang the skull on a string.
...
“Skull cults are not uncommon in Anatolia,” says Gresky. She explains that archaeological remains from other sites in the region indicate people would commonly bury their dead, then exhume them, remove the skulls, and display them creatively. Other archaeologists have even found that Neolithic people would remodel the faces of the dead with plaster.
...
Besides the cut-mark and drill-hole evidence, Gresky says other clues at the site show this culture placed a special significance on skulls. “We find depictions like a headless person on a pillar, or human heads made of stone. The site iconography fits with special emphasis on the skull.”
At Göbekli Tepe, there are no burial sites but rather just pits of human bones mixed in with animal bones and flint tools, meaning additional context is needed to better understand the site. “We are still in the beginning of working to understand the anthropology of the site," says Gresky. "[H]opefully we will find some more bones and skull fragments. Then we can get a clearer picture of how these people lived.”
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
You mean......other than savagely?
Murdoch publication now. Rumors today of more layoffs.
Simple, it's a butcher shop. Or a taxidermist. Or both.
They must not get around much.
Ancestor worship
Actually that is the site of the earliest civilization in the world. They were pretty far from savage.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.