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posted by martyb on Sunday July 01 2018, @11:36AM   Printer-friendly
from the Ancient-Children dept.

New evidence of ancient child sacrifice found in Turkey

Remains of young people who were ritually sacrificed have been found from Bronze Age Mesopotamia. Led by Museum scientific associate Dr Brenna Hassett, a team examined burial practices at Başur Höyük, a Bronze Age cemetery in Turkey. It contains a series of individuals who were buried between 3100 and 2800 BCE. The site dates to 500 years before the famous Royal Cemetery of Ur, a luxurious series of tombs that form the resting place of Mesopotamian rulers.

An excavation of Başur Höyük [DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2018.63] [DX] uncovered a large, coffin-like stone tomb that contained multiple burials, with an unprecedented number of high-status grave goods for the period and region.

In three graves were found the remains of at least 11 people, male and female, ranging from age 11 to young adults. Several people were buried outside the tomb with elaborate ornaments and grave goods. Brenna says, 'The burials are remarkable because of the youth of the individuals, the number that were buried and the large wealth of objects that were buried with them.

Also at Live Science and Newsweek.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Sunday July 01 2018, @06:18PM (2 children)

    by frojack (1554) on Sunday July 01 2018, @06:18PM (#701012) Journal

    You probably imagine too much.

    These so called sacrifices may simply be a change from one warlord to the next, eliminating anyone with dynastic claims to power, but glorifying them to avoid hatred.
    Or parental killings to avoid killing by the enemy in the face of an impending defeat. Or oldest offspring eliminating any contenders for the throne. Or disease.

    One need not reach to ritualism every time a body is found to be buried with care.

    Future (perhaps alien) archaeologists will probably attribute aluminum pop-tops [westerndigs.org] scattered around the earth as religious symbols and wax eloquent about them in some Post-apocalyptic future.

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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 01 2018, @06:58PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 01 2018, @06:58PM (#701020)

    I plan to have several anime figures buried with me, just to confuse future archeologists.

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 01 2018, @08:51PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 01 2018, @08:51PM (#701055)

      I plan on not dying.
      To confuse doctors.