Scientists have uncovered the aftermath of an "exceptionally violent" attack about 4,000 years ago in Somerset when at least 37 people appear to have been butchered and likely eaten... including men, woman and children. Teenagers and older children made up about half of the victims.
Scrape and cut marks on the bones indicate that the attackers systematically dismembered their victims using stone tools and likely consumed them. "If we saw these marks on animal bones, we'd have no question that they were butchered," says Prof Schulting.
It is the largest case of violence between humans identified in early Bronze Age England, which had been considered a peaceful time. Before this discovery, only about 10 victims of violent attacks had been found from the period, Prof Schulting says.
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