Anthropologists from the University of Bordeaux in France have found a Cro-Magnon man, the first victim of the slaughter of a modern human species in European history. The results of the research have been published magazine Journal of Human Evolution.
According to scientists, the ancient ancestor of modern man tried to hide from his pursuer in the Cro-Magnon cave (the oldest rock shelter of the Cro-Magnons located in the southwest of France), but was struck in the head. with a stone ax. The blow was fatal.
Scientists found the cave last century, it contained the remains of four adults and four children. Among the bones, anthropologists also found a skull with a suspicious defect in the frontal bone of the skull. Many researchers did not agree on whether the injury was the cause of death.
Using computed tomography, scientists created a 3D reconstruction of an ancient person’s head based on the data obtained. The team compared the resulting pattern with other examples of traumatic brain injury. According to scientists, most likely the man was shot, after which he survived, but fell ill with meningitis and died. If the scientists’ version is correct, this is the first evidence of a violent attack on modern humans in Europe.