1.45 Million-Year-Old Ancient Bone Reveals Prehistoric Cannibalism of Human Relative, Scientists Say

Ancient bone marks show that, around 1.45 million years ago, someone could have fed on the leg of a hominin.

Distinct Ancient Bones

Science Alert explains that these tibia bone findings, which are coated with various cuts and belong to a mysterious relative of humans that lived in what is not present-day Kenya, could serve as the earliest example of butchery between hominins.

Briana Pobiner, a paleoantrhopologist from the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution, and her team were able to conduct an intricate 3D analysis of the cut marks. They also conducted various experiments on the findings to examine where the marks originated from.

Findings reveal that stone tools could account for the various cut marks. Science Alert adds that the stripping method seemed like the flesh was being prepared to be consumed and fed on. Pobiner explains that the information shows that hominins could have been feeding on each other roughly 1.45 million years ago.

Prehistoric Cannibalism?

Pobiner adds that there are various species examples in the evolutionary tree that feed on each other for their own nutrition. However, the fossil findings posit that human relatives may have been feeding on each other for survival purposes, Mirror UK adds.

Confirmation of the cut marks was done via analysis and comparison of the findings with a database of marks that were left by teeth, stone tools, and equipment for butchery. Pobiner adds that the marks share a striking resemblance with those observed on animal fossils that underwent certain processes for the purpose of consumption. Such findings were detailed in the Scientific Reports journal.

Science Alert adds that these cut marks have a ritualistic nature. They come as part of a process that involves the interment of the dead. Such a method is also quite common, as humans carved the bones of their fellow humans into items of decorative nature, including jewelry, pendants, and combs.

However, in other cases, it reveals a different phenomenon: anthropophagy, which refers to the consumption of human flesh by fellow humans. This does not necessarily involve the same human species. Hence, in essence and in strict terms, it could possibly not pass as prehistoric cannibalism.

It is challenging to prove prehistoric anthropography. There is also room for misinterpretation regarding why the bone underwent such processes. Nevertheless, some bones from the Pleistocene offer an uncontested interpretation of anthropophagy and cannibalism.

To find out where the scars were particularly present, Pobiner made a bone mold with some dental material for molding. The output was then delivered to paleoanthropologist Michael Pante, who is from Colorado State University, to further examine what could be done with the markings. Pante scanned the material and compared it to tooth 898 in the database. He was then able to carefully make controlled experiments that were consolidated for this particular purpose.

Results reveal that nine out of 11 marks were cut marks. They exhibited consistency with the damage impacts brought about by stone tools. The other two marks, however, were found to resemble those of lions.

Pobiner adds that it is unclear which one came first. Nevertheless, the marks match those made by taking flesh from a bone, such as when preparing for a meal. She adds that the marks strikingly resemble what Pobiner previously observed on animal fossils that were processed for consumption.

Inverse explains that the findings are an addition to the body of archaeological evidence that points to the prehistoric practice of cannibalism among human ancestors.

The specific hominin species remains a mystery, as there are several contemporaneous hominins that could have been capable of doing so. This means that cannibalism cannot be truly ruled out.

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