Neolithic people took gruesome trophies from invading tribes

Photos: (A) Pit 157 from Bergheim Saulager (Photo credit: Fanny Chenal, INRAP) and (B) pit 124 from Achenheim Strasse 2, RD 45 (Photo credit: Philippe Lefranc, INRAP). Article by Jennifer Ouellette. Ars Technica – August 21, 2025. Research article: Science Advances.

A local Neolithic community in northeastern France may have clashed with foreign invaders, cutting off limbs as war trophies and otherwise brutalizing their prisoners of war, according to a new paper published in the journal Science Advances. The findings challenge conventional interpretations of prehistoric violence as [being] indiscriminate or committed for pragmatic reasons. […]

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