Human Sacrifice Continued in Stone Age Europe, Reveals Archaeological Finding

After analyzing skeletons of women discovered in a tomb in France’s Rhone valley, archaeologists have concluded that ritualistic human sacrifice continued in Neolithic Age (or Stone Age) Europe.

The skeletons had their necks tied to their legs behind their back. It was evident that they strangled themselves. This practice called incaprettamento was prevalent in Europe more than 2,000 years ago, according to Live Science.

The archeological study, published on April 10 in Science Advances, identified more than dozen such ritualistic killings.

The tomb that was analyzed was discovered more than 20 years ago in southern France.

The tomb is like a grain storage pit in which the remains of three women buried about 5,500 years ago, were found. Analysis of the skeletons has revealed that the women were buried when they were still alive.

As per experts, incaprettamento originated as a sacrificial custom in the Mesolithic period, before agriculture, and later came to be used for human sacrifices associated with agriculture in the Neolithic period.