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Iron Age Britons: Evidence of Brain Removal Practices in Burial Rituals

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Iron Age Burial Discovery

Skull fragment (left) and scapula (right) of a woman buried in Lough Boralee, UK

Credit: Rebecca Ellis-Haken

Unusual scratches found on the interior of a woman’s skull, discovered in Scotland and dated to 2,000 years ago, indicate that brain removal may have been a part of Iron Age funerary traditions in Britain.

The Iron Age in Britain, spanning from around 800 BC until the Roman conquest in 43 AD, remains shrouded in mystery due to the scarcity of preserved human remains from that era.

Evidence shows that many individuals from this time were buried alongside their maternal relatives rather than their spouses. Excavations at Iron Age sites like Suddern Farm and Danebury in southern England reveal that bodies were sometimes exhumed after burial, or left exposed until final interment, suggesting complex funerary practices.
The findings suggest a rich cultural tradition surrounding death.

A research team led by Laura Castells Navarro from the University of York reevaluated remains of an adult woman and a teenage boy buried in a low cairn at Loch Borralee in Scotland. These remains were initially excavated in 2000, with both individuals estimated to have died between 50 BC and 70 AD.

The team discovered distinct striae and abrasions inside the woman’s skull. According to Castells-Navarro, this suggests purposeful brain removal.

“The scratches are so regular and straight that they likely result from the use of a sharp tool,” Castells-Navarro explains.
Adele Bricking of the Museum of Wales commented on the significance of these findings, stating that the uniformity of the marks indicates intentional manipulation.

However, Richard Maggwick, a professor at Cardiff University, expresses caution, suggesting that while the marks indicate manipulation, it remains uncertain if they definitively relate to brain removal.

The study also revealed that some of the woman’s long bones, including the femur, tapered towards their tips, possibly indicating they were crafted into tools.

Castells-Navarro posits, “They likely took a long bone, broke it in half, and processed it until it tapered smoothly.” Conversely, Maggwick suggests these bones may have been incidental to tool-making rather than intentional modifications.

Despite speculation around the purpose behind these bone alterations, the woman’s remains were ultimately reassembled and placed in a cairn, indicating a respect for her identity.

This research provides valuable insights into relationships between the living and the dead during the Iron Age.
Andrew Lamb from the University of Edinburgh highlights parallels with postmortem practices found throughout Europe, suggesting a complex view of death and identity in prehistoric societies.

Furthermore, genetic analysis of the individuals revealed they were likely second cousins on the maternal side, and connected to Iron Age communities from Orkney and Applecross. This agrees with archaeological findings of maritime trade and cultural exchanges during the Iron Age.

Lamb notes these communities likely used small wooden-framed boats for navigation, which were suitable for coastal sailing.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Australian rituals have persisted for 12,000 years, as evidenced by ancient artefacts

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Ancient ritual sticks discovered in Australia's Clogs Cave

Gunaikurnai Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation

Wooden artefacts found in Australian caves suggest Aboriginal rituals recorded in the 19th century.Number The ritual is believed to have taken place 12,000 years ago, making it possibly the oldest cultural ceremony in the world.

Between 2019 and 2020, a team of archaeologists and members of the local Indigenous community of Gunaikurnai in southeastern Australia carried out excavations at Clogs Cave, near the Snowy River in Victoria.

The site had been partially excavated in the 1970s, but during new work the team discovered two preserved fireplaces, containing mostly unfired artefacts made from local wood. Casalina Chemical analysis of the wooden remains found showed they were smeared with animal or human fat and dated to between 11,000 and 12,000 years ago, making them some of the oldest wooden artefacts found in Australia.

This alone would have been a major puzzling discovery, but the researchers and local residents were also examining the ethnographic reports of 19 other people.NumberAlfred Howitt was a 20th century cultural anthropologist who studied the customs and traditions of tribes in south-eastern Australia in the 1880s.

In 1887, close to Clogs Cave, he recorded the rituals of the indigenous “wizards”, powerful medicine men of Gunaikurnai, now known as “Mula-Mlang”, who smeared wooden throwing sticks with animal or human fat. Casalina The wood is placed in small ritual fires and used as magical talismans and curses, a ritual he understood to be used against enemies or anyone the ritualist wishes to harm.

“During this time, the wizard would continue to chant the spell – as the saying goes, he would 'sing the man's name' – and when the stick fell, the spell was complete – a practice that continues to this day,” Howitt writes.

Bruno David Monash University in Melbourne Russell MalletThe Gunaikurnai elder said similarities between archaeological finds and ethnographic descriptions led him to believe the same rituals had been taking place for up to 12,000 years.

Mallet said he was convinced of the connection because Howitt's description matched so closely with what was found in the cave — the type of wood and the position of the fat on the sticks were exactly as Howitt described them.

“This will ensure the longevity of our oral traditions and knowledge and the passing of that knowledge from generation to generation,” Mallett says.

David says the conclusions slowly deepened with the discovery of these unusual wood artefacts.

“Archaeologists never see the rituals that were taking place behind these ancient ruins,” he says, “and to me it's really amazing that the physical evidence that matches the cultural knowledge so well has remained so largely intact and for so long. It's exactly what Howitt described.”

“The team's methodology is thorough and excellent.” Paul Tassone At Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

According to Tason, these communities have undergone many changes over time, but this ritual appears to have remained constant: “What strikes me about this is that for this same form of ritual to have continued for such a long period of time, it must have been considered important and effective.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com