5,700-year-old mystery: Brutal Stone Age tragedy uncovered in Ukraine

Archaeologists in Ukraine uncovered the charred remains of a Stone Age family, offering a grim glimpse into a violent episode from 5,700 years ago. The discovery of burned and crushed human bones inside a prehistoric house at Kosenivka suggests a brutal end for these individuals, possibly during a raid when their house was set on fire, according to Live Science.

During excavations, researchers found nearly 100 pieces of human bone fragments within the destroyed and heavily burned dwelling. Further analysis revealed the remains of seven individuals, including two children, a teenager, and four adults. Radiocarbon dating indicates that six of these people, possibly a family, likely died between 3690 and 3620 BC, while one adult died roughly 130 years later, reports Live Science.

Two of the adults showed severe head injuries inflicted just before death, creating a 5,700-year-old forensic mystery. Despite the evidence of violent injuries, the analysis did not reveal additional information about the cause of the skull fractures, according to Live Science. The cause of death for the others remains uncertain, but the evidence suggests that the fire may not have been the direct cause. Some bodies were subjected to fire after death, while others may have perished from smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide poisoning just outside the house.

One of the most puzzling aspects of the find was that the seventh individual, an adult who was not burned, died about 130 years later after the house was burned and abandoned. The skull fragment seems temporally disconnected from the deaths of the other six, reports Live Science. Researchers suggest that this isolated skull fragment might be a deliberate ritual deposition.

The house itself is part of a large settlement created by the agrarian Cucuteni-Trypillia societies, which thrived in regions now known as Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine from 4800 to 3000 BCE. These societies built large settlements that included public buildings and family homes, many of which were deliberately burned upon abandonment.

However, the recent findings at Kosenivka challenge this notion. Jordan Karsten, an archaeologist at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, believes the evidence points to a violent conflict. “It seems reasonable that the individuals found in Kosenivka were killed in a raid and their house was burned in the conflict,” he stated, according to Live Science. “Previous explanations for burned CTS houses focused on ritual house destruction through intentional burning, but these results suggest that intergroup conflict might better fit the data.”

Economically, it makes little sense for the Cucuteni-Trypillia people to burn down a home full of food, ceramics, tools, and ritual items. The Cucuteni-Trypillia people lived in a forested steppe area near nomadic pastoralist groups.

Analysis of the remains provided insights into the daily life of these ancient people. The diet of these individuals was primarily composed of cereals and vegetables, with meat accounting for only about 10% of their food intake, according to Futura Sciences. Pathological lesions on the bones show that these individuals suffered from diseases and infections, and evidence suggests they experienced significant stress. This stress may have been due to food insecurity or an environment where violence was prevalent, as implied by the dramatic circumstances of their deaths.

These settlements could accommodate up to 15,000 people, making them some of the largest in Neolithic Europe. Ukraine’s rich archaeological sites provide evidence of a strong Neolithic occupation in Eastern Europe. 

The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.