The Bronze Age victims are thought to have been killed by a neighbouring, rival culture.
In 2011, archaeologists working in Poland made a grizzly discovery. A mass grave of 15 individuals—mostly women and children—that had been executed during a massacre. Scientists have now discovered that these 5,000-year-old murder victims were part of the same, extended family—and had been buried with great care, with mothers placed next to their children, and siblings by each others side.
The mass grave, in Poland, is associated with the Globular Amphora culture, which existed in central Europe during the Bronze Age. The grave dates to between 2880-2776 BC—towards the end of the culture’s existence. In the latest study, scientists sequenced the genomes of all 15 skeletons. In the grave there were five adult females, four adult males, two girls and four boys. The youngest was a boy aged between 1.5 and two years at time of death. Analysis indicated they mostly had brown eyes, brown or dark blond hair and medium to dark skin.
The team also looked at the injuries the individuals had suffered. All were found to have injuries to the skull that appear to have been inflicted at time of death, suggesting they were killed by blows to the head. “Overall, the nature of the injuries and the near absence of so-called parry fractures suggest that the individuals were captured and executed, rather than killed in hand-to-hand combat,” the team wrote.
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