![]() They’ve also done isotope analysis on their bones, which reveals these people had a diet high in protein, mostly from fish. Scientists working on the site have sequenced the DNA for several of the individuals-that’s how they figured out that two of the crania were female. One of the crania still had some brain residues clinging to the inside, which suggests the brain was in there during secondary burial. In one case, the secondary burial came very quickly. After that, someone removed their heads, took off their lower jaws, and placed them in the middle of the lake-sometimes on a stake. All the people at Kanaljorden had been exposed or buried for a period of time, likely until most of their flesh was gone. In fact, they arrived on the artificial island as part of a “secondary burial” ritual, a term for what happens when bodies are moved from one burial site to another. ![]() ![]() Their bodies were given special treatment after death. There’s another key indicator that these people may have been special members of the community rather than defeated bad guys put on display. One possible explanation for this is that women occupied different positions from men in battle and thus got hit in slightly different spots. Gummesson and her colleagues note that the women had injuries mostly on the sides of their heads, while the men had injuries on the top. While this doesn’t rule out the idea that these were enemies, it seems more likely they were members of the community who fought battles and survived. Most of these men and women had recovered from their wounds at the time they died. Though a number of crania at the site showed trauma from weapons, there’s evidence that these injuries had healed over time. Forensic analysis reveals a much more complicated story. Advertisementįirst, it’s important to dispel the myth that this site was for displaying the remains of enemies, killed violently and staked. And their reasons are not quite what you might imagine. Though we’ve seen lots of heads on stakes in Game of Thrones and various movies, Kanaljorden is the first time anyone has found evidence in real life that Stone Age people in this area were mounting heads on stakes. In a recent article for Antiquity, Stockholm University archaeologist Sara Gummesson and her colleagues explain what the evidence reveals about how this ritual site was used. Now dubbed “Kanaljorden,” the archaeological site has finally begun to yield some secrets about the people who created it. A pile of rocks rose above the water, covered in weapons, wooden structures, and the grisly remains of fearsome animals-as well as the skulls of some carefully chosen people. ![]() Thousands of years ago, this semi-submerged burial ground must have been an imposing sight for the small settlements located nearby. Two of the human skulls were mounted on pointed stakes. They also found the bones of bears, deer, boar, and a badger. For roughly 7,500 years, a shallow, swampy lake in the area had hidden a pile of stones that contained the skeletal remains of at least 10 people and weapons made of stone and antler. In east-central Sweden, workers demolishing a railway that crossed the Motala Ström River discovered something bizarre.
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