May
27
/ 2021
13,400 years ago individuals were engaged in armed conflict on the east bank of the Nile in what is now northern Sudan. A fresh analysis of human remains from the prehistoric cemetery of Jebel Sahaba reveals the sporadic and recurrent nature of violence at one of the earliest sites linked to human warfare. Research just published in Scientific Reports casts new light on the conflicts in which those hunter-fisher-gatherers engaged so long ago. Several of the discoveries dispute the original findings and interpretations of the site. One of the most surprising finds is that the individuals buried in the cemetery apparently fought and survived several violent conflicts, rather than dying in one major battle, as was previously believed. Why Jebel
