A group of German Archaeologists have discovered a gruesome find in south-west Germany. Bones dating back 7,000 years reveal cannibalism was running rampant at about the same time as the first phase of European farming was collapsing.

Marks on bones show that bodies were skinned and had their flesh removed using techniques almost identical to those for butchering animals and one researcher suggested that some of the victims could have been spit-roasted.

Many of the bones appear to have been deliberately smashed to allow the living to suck out the marrow of the dead. Others bear the “chew marks” of teeth and while they are too indistinct to be certain scavenging animals were not to blame, the “distinctive distribution speaks strongly in favour” of having been made by hungry humans. Cut marks on the bones are often so clear that archaeologists have been able to distinguish between which cuts were intended to skin and scalp the bodies and which were made to get at the meat.

So far, 500 bodies have been dug up with an estimated 500 more still beneath the dig.

Herxheim’s remains date from a period when Europe is thought to have been plunged into upheaval, violence and decline following 500 years in which Neolithic farmers first settled the region. Professor Chris Scarre, a neolithic expert at the University of Durham, said after learning of the study that the Herxheim site could represent useful evidence of a society in turmoil but cautioned that cannibalism can be hard to prove because other factors, such as funerary rites, can leave similar marks on bones.

Source

An ancient carving, dating back 5,000 years, has been unearthed in Scotland. It depicts a human figure and face, making it the oldest such representation of mankind found in Scotland. More importantly, if taken literally, the figurine proves that ancients Scotts looked like the toy Weebles Wobble…but they don’t fall down.

Source: BBC

If you thought Xanadu was the name of a cheesy 80’s musical starring Olivia Newton John, you’re correct. If you could swear you heard the word Xanadu in the Citizen Kane newsreel, you’re correct. If you thought Xanadu was the name of a city built by Mongol emperor Kublai Khan in 1256, then you’re on top of your game.

Chinese archaeologists have finally discovered the location of the fabled Xanadu.

From ExpressBuzz:

Xanadu, also spelled Shangdu, was built in 1256 under the command of Kublai Khan, the first emperor of Yuan or Mongol Dynasty (1206-1368). It became the summer capital of Mongol emperors of China after the Yuan Dynasty moved its capital to what is now Beijing.Yang said that the excavation programme is expected to take three years to unearth structures in Shangdu.Marco Polo (1254-1324) once described the prosperity of Shangdu in his book, arising the interest of many archaeologists and historians.

Archaeologists have discovered a roasting pit that dates back to 29,000 B.C. with clear evidence that the last meals prepared at the pit were of gigantic mammoths.

From Discovery:

Svoboda, a professor at the University of Brno and director of its Institute of Archaeology, and colleagues recently excavated Pavlov VI, where they found the remains of a female mammoth and one mammoth calf near a 4-foot-wide roasting pit. Arctic fox, wolverine, bear and hare remains were also found, along with a few horse and reindeer bones.

The meats were cooked luau-style underground. Svoboda said, “We found the heating stones still within the pit and around.”

Boiling pits existed near the middle roaster. He thinks “the whole situation — central roasting pit and the circle of boiling pits — was sheltered by a teepee or yurt-like structure.”