Bronze Age butchery and cannibalism unearthed in England

four human bones that show evidence of being chewed on by other humans — Human bones showing damage attributed to possible chewing by other humans. Schulting et al. Antiquity, December 2024

Archeological discoveries can reveal the brighter sides of humanity. Collecting tchotchkes, our ancestors potentially comforting or sheltering one another in the face of a cataclysmic disaster, or building owl toys for children show how caring we can be as a species. However, other findings can reveal our darker side.

That more bleak part of human nature can be found in the bones uncovered from an archeological site in Charterhouse Warren, Somerset, England. A team recently analyzed over 3,000 bones found there decades ago that date back to the Early Bronze Age. The remains of at least 37 individuals here were killed, butchered, and likely partially eaten before they were thrown down a shaft that is 49-feet-deep. The analysis is detailed in a study published December 15 in the journal Antiquity and represents the largest-scale example of interpersonal violence from British prehistory.

Get the Popular Science newsletter

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday.

A rare and grisly find

While hundreds of human skeletons dating back between 2500 and 1500 BCE in the area, direct evidence of a violent conflict is quite rare to come by.

“We actually find more evidence for injuries to skeletons dating to the Neolithic period in Britain than the Early Bronze Age, so Charterhouse Warren stands out as something very unusual,” study co-author and University of Oxford archeologist Rick Schulting said in a statement. “It paints a considerably darker picture of the period than many would have expected.”

During the 1970s, the scattered bones of at least 37 individuals were discovered in the 49-feet-deep shaft. The bones belonged to a mixture of men, women, and children, which likely means they were representative of a community.

Examples of cranial trauma. Top) perimortem injury to the left posterior of the frontal bone (a), cutmarks can also be seen on the frontal bone (b) and patinated bevel of the internal cranial surface is apparent around the injury (c); middle) cranium with a perforating injury to mid-frontal bone (d), a closer view shows radiating fracture lines (e) and the internal view shows patinated bevel (f ); bottom) adult cranium (g), close inspection shows cutmarks running along the mid-frontal (h) and a perimortem blunt force fracture to the conjoining right frontal bone fragment (i) Images by Schulting et al. Antiquity, December 2024. CREDIT: Schulting et al. Antiquity, December 2024.

Searching for motivation–and a reason for cannibalism

The skulls have evidence of a violent death from blunt force trauma, unlike the majority of contemporary burials. Researchers from multiple institutions further analyzed the bones to try and learn more about how these people died. They found several cutmarks and fractures that occurred at or near the time of death on the bones. The team believes that this is evidence that they were intentionally butchered and may have been partly consumed.

To find clues to why people in Early Bronze Age Britain might cannibalize their dead, they looked at the nearby Palaeolithic site of Gough’s Cave in Cheddar Gorge. Evidence uncovered there suggests that cannibalism was likely a funeral rite in the area. However, Charterhouse Warren is a bit different. The evidence of a violent death with no indication of a fight or struggle implies that the victims were caught off guard. The team believes it is likely that they were all massacred and the butchering was done by their enemies.

Abundant cattle bones have been found mixed in with the human bones suggests that people at Charterhouse Warren probably had enough to eat, so it is unlikely that they were killed strictly for food.

Instead, cannibalism may have been a way to “other” and dehumanize the deceased. The killers were likening their enemies to animals by eating their flesh and mixing their bones in with animal bones.

‘People in prehistory could match more recent atrocities’

The conflict was likely caused by social factors. Theft or insults may have led to tensions which then escalated out of proportion. Additionally, two of the children had evidence of plague in their teeth. The fear of such a deadly illness may have also exacerbated tensions. Scientists at the The Francis Crick Institute found these signs of plague at Charterhouse Warren in a 2023 study and they were a “completely unexpected” finding, according to Schulting. However, the team still does not know what–if any–impact plague had on this conflict.

Right hemi-mandible of child aged about 10 years (a) with detail of cutmarks on the ascending ramus (b). Image credit: Schulting et al. Antiquity, December 2024. CREDIT: Schulting et al. Antiquity, December 2024.

As a whole, the discovery of such violence at Charterhouse Warren shows that in at least this instance, perceived slights and cycles of revenge could result in violent actions.

“Charterhouse Warren is one of those rare archaeological sites that challenges the way we think about the past,” said Schulting. “It is a stark reminder that people in prehistory could match more recent atrocities and shines a light on a dark side of human behaviour. That it is unlikely to have been a one-off event makes it even more important that its story is told.”