November 29, 2016

Oldest Decapitation Ritual in the New World Discovered in Brazil

At the Lagoa Santo site in Brazil, a 9000 year old skull was unearthed with amputated hands placed over the face at the Lapo do Santo cave at the site. The face had been defleshed. The previous earliest known case of decapitation in South America was in the Peruvian Andes 3000 years ago. The earliest case in North America was in Florida between 6,990-8,120 years ago. The skull belonged to a young man who was a member of the group in the cave and the positioning of the skull and hands suggest a ceremony. The burial ritual does not suggest violence.

Live Science has the report here;
http://www.livescience.com/52278-oldest-human-decapitation-in-new-world.html

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