Archeologists discover signs of 'mass cannibalism' at German site

Sun, 06 Dec 2009

London/Berlin - Archaeologists have found rare evidence of cannibalism in Europe in the Neolithic period at a site in southern Germany, according to the December edition of the archaeology journal Antiquity. The "intentionally mutilated" remains of some 500 humans were found at a 7,000-year-old early-Neolithic site at Herxheim in Rheinland-Pfalz, indicating that ritual activities involving "mass cannibalism" may have taken place, the journal reports.

Scientists believe the consumption of people in Europe may only have taken place in times of extreme hunger, since farming had already begun to spread in this part of the world during the Neolithic period.

The Herxheim site has been explored several times since it was first excavated in 1996.