Our Ancestors were Cannibals: Ancient Bones Reveal Cannibalism

Scientific evidence, such as human teeth marks, found in ancient remains reveal that our forebears were cannibals and lived a cannibalistic lifestyle, according to new archeological findings.

The remains from Gough's Cave in Somerset, England, an archeological site, confirmed that a group of humans was once butchered, defleshed, and eaten. Its last excavation is dated last 1992, and scientists have since then continued to study the bones from the dig site, according to BBC.

The findings were published in the Journal of Human Evolution which included a detailed analysis of the ancient remains found at the famous archeological site.

"The human remains have been the subject of several studies," according to Dr. Silvia Bello of the Natural History Museum's Department of Earth Sciences.

"In a previous analysis, we could determine that the cranial remains had been carefully modified to make skull-cups," he revealed. "During this research, however, we've identified a far greater degree of human modification than recorded in earlier."

"We've found undoubting evidence for defleshing, disarticulation, human chewing, crushing of spongy bone, and the cracking of bones to extract marrow," he added.

According to UK Mirror, these findings suggest that our human ancestors had a cannibalistic lifestyle. The human teeth marks in the remains were considered to be undeniable evidence as well as the modification of cranial bones into skull cups. The use of skull cups was likened with other digging sites in central and Western Europe. However, the new evidence from the research suggests that consumption of flesh and making skull cups were considered a ritual practice during the 'Magdalenian period.'

"A recurring theme of this period is the remarkable rarity of burials and how commonly we find human remains mixed with occupation waste at many sites," according to Simon Parfitt, co-author of the study, from University of College London.

"Further analysis along the lines used to study Gough's Cave will help to establish whether the type of ritualistic cannibalism practiced there is a regional ('Creswellian') phenomenon, or a more widespread practice found throughout the Magdalenian world."

Additional research is conducted to discover how common cannibalism was during this period.

Through new radiocarbon techniques, the researchers found out that the remains were placed in the cave for a short period of time approximately 15,000 years ago, according to Nature World News.

The Gough Cave in England was first discovered in 1880s. During its many digging explorations, the site was riddled with human bones, large animal remains, ivory, flint, and antlers.