Cannibalism may seem like a completely out of the ordinary practice today. Yet, scientists have discovered evidence that over one million years ago, our ancestors may have been cannibals.
Discovering Bones
A team, led by archaeologist Eudald Carbonell of Spain's University of Rovira and Virgil, examined ancient bones left in a Spanish cave.
The bones had cut marks and butchering remains on them. This suggests that cannibalism could have been a popular activity.
Who Were Our Ancestors?
Scientists have learned that our "archaic" human ancestors, also known as Homo antecessor, possessed a brain two-thirds the size of modern humans.
The bones also suggest that cannibalism may have been just another way our ancestors stayed alive during famines. The study's author suggests that this is one of the oldest documented cases of cannibalism.
Read More:
- Cannibal cavemen of Spain uncovered (USA Today)
- Cultural Cannibalism as a Paleoeconomic System in the European Lower Pleistocene (PDF- University of Chicago)
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