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Skulls

Left, stacked bones of pre-Hispanic burial system; Right, complete skeleton. Source:  Claudia Servín Rosas/INAH

Stacked Skulls and Bones Show Intriguing Pre-Hispanic Funerary System

Investigators have uncovered a burial ground from the pre-Hispanic era in today’s Mexico, which exhibits unique burial practices and how they were carried out in the region. The discovery occurred in...
Human skull and bread. Source: Samitanun / Adobe Stock.

Human Bones Were Ground into Flour to Make Bread in 16th Century France

In human history, there are some tales so bizarre they surpass the wildest fiction. One such story, rooted in the grim realities of 16th century France, reveals a desperate and macabre solution to...
Map by the study authors depicting the location of the Buran Kaya III (1), Zlatý Kůň (2), Fournol (3), Serinyà (4), Krems-Wachtberg (5) and Věstonice (6) archeological sites, whose remains were were analyzed in the study. Also shown are one of the analyzed skull fragments and pierced beads discovered with the bone fragments from the Buran Kaya III site, as well as the Venus statuettes from Věstonice, Willendorf and the Dame de Brassempouy (from right to left).  Source: E-M. Geigl, provided by the author/The

Skulls in Ukraine Reveal Early Modern Humans Came From the East

By Eva-Maria Geigl & Thierry Grange/The Conversation How did our species, Homo sapiens , arrive in Western Europe? Published in Nature Ecology & Evolution , our new study analyses two skull...
Largest Headhunting Massacre from Neolithic China Unearthed

Largest Headhunting Massacre from Neolithic China Unearthed

Evidence of the bloodiest decapitation and head-hunting in Neolithic Asian history, has been unearthed from China, from 4,100 years ago. In total, 41 skeletons were recovered, all belonging to women...
Victim of the Battle of Visby in 1361. Source: Gotland Excursion

The Harrowing Remains of the Battle of Visby's Medieval Massacre

The Battle of Visby was a violent medieval battle near the town of Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland, fought between the inhabitants of Gotland and the Danes, with the latter emerging victorious...
View of the cave ‘Cueva de los Marmoles’ entrance from inside, where the manipulated human remains have been found. Source: J.C. Vera Rodríguez/ PLoS ONE

Manipulated Human Remains Found at Cave Site in Spain

The Iberian Peninsula witnessed a particular form of human burials in caves, which were later manipulated and modified, over thousands of years! In the southern Iberian Peninsula, this practice...
Modified Hirota skull, Japan. Source: Noriko Seguchi/The Kyushu University Museum/PLOS ONE

Japan’s Hirota People Were Reshaping Infants’ Heads 1,500 Years Ago

A team of researchers from Japan and the United States have just published a study proving conclusively that Japan’s Hirota people were using cranial modification techniques to change the shapes of...
Entrance to Te’omim Cave, or Twins cave, near Jerusalem which has produced evidence of a necromancy cult. Source: Yair Aronshtam/CC BY-SA 2.0

Human Skulls from Roman Necromancy Cult Found in Cave Near Jerusalem

In Te’omim Cave in the Jerusalem Hills of central Israel, excavations that took place between 2010 and 2016 recovered a huge collection of Roman oil lamps, weapons, pieces of pottery and actual human...
Pile of human skulls. Source: papi8888 / Adobe Stock.

The Dark Discovery of Mexico's Huge Tower of Human Skulls (Video)

Deep within the heart of Mexico City , beneath layers of rubble and dust, lay a dark secret waiting to be unveiled. For years dark tales of a tower of skulls that terrified Spanish Conquistadors were...
Representative image of human skulls in one of the famous catacombs around the world. Source: mila103 / Adobe Stock

Tales from the Crypt: Exploring the World's Most Famous Catacombs

Beneath the streets and buildings of many of the world's most historic cities lie mysterious and ancient catacombs. These underground burial sites hold the remains of thousands of people and have...
Male skull with tabular deformation found amongst Maya burials at the Moral-Reforma Archaeological Project. Source: INAH

Archaeologists Uncover 2,000-Year-Old Maya Burials with Decapitation Marks in Mexico

Archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have made an exciting discovery at the Moral-Reforma Archaeological site in Balancán, Tabasco: 13 human burials at...
Many lives lost and their remains thrown in numerous mass graves. Source: AidaTiara/Adobe Stock

Hidden Horrors: 10 of History’s Most Shocking Mass Graves

From ancient times to the present day, mass graves have been a haunting reminder of the atrocities that human beings can inflict upon each other. These graves, containing the remains of countless...
Archaeologists found a selection of animal skulls at the Neanderthal cave in Spain, including this bison skull. Source: Nature Human Behaviour / CC BY 4.0

Neanderthals Filled This Spanish Cave with Animal Skulls. But Why?

As the data continues to accumulate, it becomes more and more clear that Neanderthals were highly intelligent hominins who built their own unique and remarkable culture. Some of the latest...
Ornamented Skull. The shell and pyrite insets into the sockets must bring some life back into these skulls, but the blades pushed into the nasal cavity and mouth have been suggested to cut off the human's vital breath. The skull covered with stones was probably worn by a priest as a mask. (Denis Jarvis / CC by SA 2.0)

16 Creepy Masks Made from Real Human Skulls

How would you feel placing a mask on your face that was made from a real human skull? Would you feel differently if it were the skull of a family member, or perhaps an enemy? For many ancient people...
An Aztec skull of a sacrificed captive used as a mask, encrusted in the nose and mouth with obsidian blades. (Dante / Adobe Stock)

16 Absolutely Terrifying Aztec Artifacts

The Aztecs emerged in central Mexico around 1300 AD, coming to dominate the surrounding area from their capital city Tenochtitlan , now Mexico City. Stretching across highlands, coastal plains,...
One of 13 intentionally modified deformed skulls found at the Tol-e Chega Sofla Neolithic cemetery in Iran. Source: Tehran Times

Intentionally Deformed Skulls Dug Up in Odd Neolithic Iranian Cemetery

In excavations in southwestern Iran at the Tol-e Chega Sofla site on the Zohreh plain, a team of Iranian archaeologists unearthed 13 deformed skulls of humans, all of which had been intentionally...
Charles II had a deathbed obsession with King’s Drops, which were made using powdered human skulls. Source: papi8888 / Adobe Stock

The King’s Drops: Charles II, Powdered Skulls and a Deathbed Obsession

For all of Europe’s pretentions of progress with civil democracies and human rights, the archives are filled with anything but. From the blood of Roman gladiators being sold as a remedy for epilepsy...
Plastered skull, c. 9000 BC, found at Kfar HaHoresh in northern Israel and now at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Source: Gary Todd / CC0

Bizarre Mortuary Practices and the Jericho Plastered Skulls

Jericho (also called Tell es-Sultan ) is a city with an incredibly rich history located in the Palestinian West Bank, near the Jordan River, some 55 kilometers (34 mi) from Jerusalem. Besides being...
Top Stories Last Week: Roman Oddity, Unique Skulls and A $3/4million Coin

Top Stories Last Week: Roman Oddity, Unique Skulls and A $3/4million Coin

In this week’s top story overview, we highlight our most read articles this week, which includes the asphalt covered skull mystery, a silver pill used for medicinal purposes dubbed a ‘paranormal...
One of the skulls from the Nahal Hemar Cave. KEYWORD Source: Clara Amit / IAA

Fascinating Asphalt-Coated Skulls Excavated in Israel Date to 7,000 BC

Nahal Hemar cave in Israel’s southern Judean Desert has proven to be one of the most artifact-rich excavation sites in the region. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has provided details of a new...
The Bolivian celebration known as the Fiesta de las Ñatitas pays homage to the dead. Source: Carlillasa / CC BY-SA 4.0

Bolivia’s Fiesta de las Ñatitas: Venerating Human Skulls and the Dead

As the sun reaches its zenith, people begin to flood the streets of La Paz, holding in their hands glass urns containing — wait for it — skulls. Although to many cultures this practice may seem...
It was this skull, found on the uninhabited island of Petite Mustique in the Caribbean, that was used in the recent leprosy research study.					Source: International Journal of Paleopathology

Caribbean Island Skull Reveals Evidence of Old World Leprosy, Study

A ground-breaking recent leprosy research study published in the International Journal of Paleopathology used the fragments of a skull found on an uninhabited Caribbean island called Petite Musique...
Greta’s skull was for the longest time viewed as the oldest British skull until it was carbon dated and proven to be a medieval skull. Source: David Adkins / DerbyShireLive

‘Oldest’ British Skull Revealed to be Decapitated Woman from Norman Conquest

Lost for years, the “oldest British skull” ever to be found was finally traced and shockingly exposed as a fraud! Radiocarbon dating of Greta, the skull unearthed by workers at what were then the...
Spanish researchers have released their scientific study of the Neolithic age skulls and ritual artifacts found in one of the Dehesilla caves south of Cadiz, Spain.

New Kind of Neolithic Age Human Burial Ritual Found in Spanish Cave

All societies, ancient and modern, lay a great deal of emphasis on how their dead should be buried. In a cave in southern Spain, researchers have discovered the extent to which Middle-Neolithic-age...

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