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Cultural Cannibalism as a Paleoeconomic System in the European Lower Pleistocene

2010; University of Chicago Press; Volume: 51; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/653807

1537-5382

Eudald Carbonell, Isabel Cáceres, Marina Lozano, Palmira Saladié, Jordi Rosell, Carlos Lorenzo, Josep Vallverdú, Rosa Huguet, Antoni Canals, José Marı́a Bermúdez de Castro,

Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies

Previous articleNext article No AccessReportsCultural Cannibalism as a Paleoeconomic System in the European Lower Pleistocene The Case of Level TD6 of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)Eudald Carbonell, Isabel Cáceres, Marina Lozano, Palmira Saladié, Jordi Rosell, Carlos Lorenzo, Josep Vallverdú, Rosa Huguet, Antoni Canals, and José María Bermúdez de CastroEudald Carbonell, Isabel Cáceres, Marina Lozano, Palmira Saladié, Jordi Rosell, Carlos Lorenzo, Josep Vallverdú, Rosa Huguet, Antoni Canals, and José María Bermúdez de CastroPDFPDF PLUSAbstractFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreAbstractHuman cannibalism is currently recorded in abundant archaeological assemblages of different chronologies. The TD6 level of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), at more than 800 ka, is the oldest case known at present. The analysis of cranial and postcranial remains of Homo antecessor has established the presence of various alterations of anthropic origin (cut marks and bone breakage) related with exploitation of carcasses. The human remains do not show a specific distribution, and they appeared mixed with lithic tools and bones of other taxa. Both nonhuman and human remains show similar evidence of butchering processes. The stratigraphic evidence and the new increment of the collection of remains of Homo antecessor have led us to identify a succession of cannibalism events in a dilated temporal sequence. These data suggest that hunting strategies and human meat consumption were frequent and habitual actions. The numerous evidences of cannibalism, the number of individuals, their age profile, and the archaeostratigraphic distribution suggest that cannibalism in TD6 was nutritional. This practice, accepted and included in their social system, is more ancient cultural cannibalism than has been known until now.DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 51, Number 4August 2010 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/653807 Views: 1346Total views on this site Citations: 57Citations are reported from Crossref © 2010 by The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Andra Meneganzin Sharing in an unequal world: The origins and survival of human cooperation, Philosophical Psychology 23 (Sep 2022): 1–6.https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2022.2128323Daniel García-Martínez, David J. Green, José María Bermúdez de Castro Evolutionary development of the Homo antecessor scapulae (Gran Dolina site, Atapuerca) suggests a modern-like development for Lower Pleistocene Homo, Scientific Reports 11, no.11 (Feb 2021).https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83039-wPalmira Saladié, Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, Josep Vallverdú, Marina Mosquera, Andreu Ollé, Rosa Huguet, Isabel Cáceres, Juan Luis Arsuaga, José M Bermúdez de Castro, Eudald Carbonell Dragged, lagged, or undisturbed: reassessing the autochthony of the hominin-bearing assemblages at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca, Spain), Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 13, no.44 (Mar 2021).https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01303-6M.F. Bógalo, B. Bradák, J.J. Villalaín, M. Calvo-Rathert, M.I. González, F. Heller, A.I. Ortega, J.M. 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