Mystery of Violently Massacred Prehistoric Scandinavians Uncovered in Unusual Watery Grave
A little-known period of prehistoric Scandinavia has recently yielded some of the most unusual human remains ever discovered. Lying atop a dense stone slab beneath a small lake were the fragmented corpses of ten people who lived around 6000 BCE. Even more bizarrely, their positioning in the lake is likely how they met their demise – most had their skulls smashed and the two survivors had long wooden spikes suggesting their heads may have been brutally severed and gruesomely displayed.
Described in the journal Antiquity, Swedish archaeologists Sara Gummesson, Fredrik Hallgren and Anna Kjellström detail a set of remains comprising nine adults and one infant skeleton found a few years ago at the Kanaljorden site in east-central Sweden. A small lake at the site revealed a 12 x 14 meter stone slab, along with human and animal bones placed atop the deliberately constructed feature. The bones were radiocarbon dated from 6000-5500 BCE, a time when at least two settlements existed on nearby shores, with archaeological evidence indicating a hunting and gathering society.
The animal remains in the lake came from at least seven different species, including wild boar and brown bear. Cut marks on these animals show they were manipulated and butchered post-mortem, likely for some purpose other than human consumption. The lack of any burnt animal bones provides further evidence supporting this hypothesis.
While the use of animal bones for ritualistic purposes seems unremarkable, the archaeologists uncovered 9 adult human skulls in identical positions with alarming injuries. Two were identified as female, four as male, and the others of indeterminate sex. The tenth was a full-term infant of unknown perinatal circumstances.
The catalogue of injuries on the adults’ skulls included blunt force trauma concentrated to the crowns and faces – all six females and four males bore evidence of such blows. However, the women “showed evidence of more cases of trauma to the rear of the head,” Gummesson and colleagues write, “while males had a single frontal crown or facial wound.” Three of the men also revealed severe perimortem wounds around time of death.
Because the human remains were deposited in a lake with minimal water flow, they were exceptionally preserved, even after eight millennia. One skull contained remnants of brain tissue, which the archaeologists conclude means it was kept soon after death. The unique preservation conditions also allowed them to recover wooden artifacts – specifically around 400 complete and fragmented stakes reminiscent of fencing or other enclosures.
However, two of these stakes were found inside skulls. In the image above, “the complete stake, 25 mm wide and 0.47 m long, of which the distal 0.2 m was driven into the skull. The opposite end of the stake was pointed,” the archaeologists write. Another stake, though broken, was partially found inside a second skull. “In both cases, the stakes had been driven in through the foramen magnum,” or the large opening where the spinal cord exits, reaching to the inner skull table. Gummesson and colleagues conclude: “These finds show that at least two of the skulls had been mounted.”
The researchers note that the deposition of these particular human heads atop a man-made stone structure underwater is unique. But healed head trauma is not uncommon: similar wounds have been seen in other Scandinavian populace groups during this period and are thought to result from accidents, interpersonal violence, bride abduction, spousal abuse, socially sanctioned violence and warfare. Since “most of the perimortem injuries at Kanaljorden are located superior to the brow line,” the archaeologists say this suggests “violence more than accidents.”
The Kanaljorden people were hunter-gatherers, making it unlikely this was a socially stratified society with beheaded slaves or prisoners. Instead, the researchers note “an alternative explanation could be to regard the cranial trauma as a result of inter-group violence; e.g. raids and warfare – both common among hunter-gatherers.”
Specifically, the differing injury patterns in males and females could relate to their differing combat roles and behaviors, as Gummesson and colleagues note “violence to the head is the most effective way of subduing an opponent or victim.” If these individuals were in fact victims of outside-group violence, the fact that many bore evidence of healed trauma could indicate they endured periodic violent acts.
While ongoing research into this time and locality will certainly yield new information in the future, for now, Gummesson and colleagues can state “the fact that the majority of the individuals exhibit healed trauma does not seem to be a random coincidence but rather implies they were specifically selected for inclusion in the deposit.” If additional human remains are found similar to those at Kanaljorden, perhaps someday our questions about violence in Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies will be answered.
