{"id":2259,"date":"2026-06-09T23:06:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T23:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2259"},"modified":"2026-06-09T23:06:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T23:06:37","slug":"iron-age-woman-likely-had-her-brains-scooped-out-before-burial-study-suggests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2259","title":{"rendered":"Iron Age woman likely had her brains scooped out before burial, study suggests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n An Iron Age Scottish woman likely had her brains scooped out after she died as part of her burial, according to a new study that sheds further light on the complex funerary rites of this prehistoric culture.\n <\/p>

Read more Trump family promotes coins commemorating White House UFC fight<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Researchers from the UK and US found that this individual, most likely over the age of 30, had cuts on the inside of her skull.\n <\/p>\n

\n These straight and parallel incisions were probably caused by \u201cdeliberate scratching or cutting\u201d with a \u201csharp\u201d tool, according to the study published in the journal Antiquity.\n <\/p>\n

\n The base of her cranium was also broken in an \u201cunusual\u201d way, suggesting that the fracture was the result of \u201can intentional targeted impact,\u201d the researchers noted.\n <\/p>\n

\n Together, the fracture and the cutmarks \u201care suggestive of deliberate removal of the brain soon after the death of this individual,\u201d they said.\n <\/p>\n

\n The cutmarks were \u201calso in the part of the cranium where you have ligaments attaching the brain to the skull, so it would make sense that you would want to scratch those if the intent is to remove the brain,\u201d lead study author and archaeologist Laura Castells Navarro, a postdoctoral research associate at the UK\u2019s University of York, told CNN Tuesday.\n <\/p>\n

\n She added that the \u201ceasiest way to access\u201d the brain while preserving the cranium \u201cis the base of the skull,\u201d and the break looked \u201cvery, very fresh.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\nPhotographs of bones showing evidence of manipulation after death.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Rebecca Ellis-Haken\/Courtesy Antiquity Publications Ltd.<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n The researchers also found that at least four of the woman\u2019s long bones \u2013 femur (or thigh bone), humerus from both upper arms and ulna from the forearm \u2013 were modified before she was laid to rest.\n <\/p>\n

\n While an initial 2003 reportsuggested the bones may have been gnawed by rodents, Navarro said marks by rodents are \u201cnever smooth\u201d and \u201cwhat we are seeing is an actual polishing of the remains.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe think that what happened was that they (the bones) may have been snapped in half, and then they had been whittled to a very sharp edge\u201d and tapered to an elongated point, she added.\n <\/p>\n

\n This is the case with the ulna and the humeri. The femur, however, had a flat and smooth finish, according to the study.\n <\/p>\n

\n The researchers are still unsure of the precise motivations for this practice \u2013 whether it was a sign of respect for a valued member of the community or \u201cpurposefully abusive treatment of the body of an outsider or low status individual,\u201d the study said.\n <\/p>\n

\n However, despite these modifications, the four bones were placed back in the grave in their correct anatomical position, which suggests a sign of \u201creverence rather than denigration,\u201d the study added.\n <\/p>

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\n \u201cThat was quite interesting, given how heavily modified they have been because clearly there has been some kind of thought and respect and care on putting them together,\u201d as well as \u201can insane knowledge of anatomy,\u201d Navarro said.\n <\/p>\n

\n The body is one of two discovered in 2000 underneath a cairn \u2013 a manmade heap of stones usually found on mountainsides \u2013 on the northern tip of the Scottish mainland.\n <\/p>\n

\n The other, likely a young male who was about 15 years old when he died, did not appear to have experienced any \u201ccomplex patterns of trauma,\u201d according to the study.\n <\/p>\n

\n Researchers carried out DNA analysis, as well as radiocarbon dating and chemical analysis of the molar teeth of the two individuals.\n <\/p>\n

\n The woman and the boy were likely related and could have been as close as maternal second cousins, sharing great-grandparents. They both likely died between 50 BC and 70 AD, although and the individuals may not have been buried at the same time.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Hora<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nHora Mountain from afar on Saturday, July 23, 2016.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Jacob Davis<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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7 min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\n The researchers said that, while the treatment of the woman\u2019s remains \u201ccannot be paralleled in detail,\u201d there is a lot of evidence of the modification, curation and circulation of human remains during that time period.\n <\/p>\n

\n While there are \u201ca couple of examples of cemeteries in Scotland\u201d at the time, \u201cmost of the remains are found in very unlikely places, like in a house, at the door of the house, in pits,\u201d natural caves and stone cairns, Navarro said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Modified body parts have been found in other parts of the region, where there was a tradition of getting fragments of skulls and making a few holes in them that they potentially used to hang them, Navarro said, adding that cut marks to open up a cranium have been found on a skeleton at another site.\n <\/p>\n

\n So while the finding in this study is \u201cvery unique\u201d and \u201cunusual,\u201d Navarro said \u201cit does fit into a wider interaction between living and the dead, and this memorialization and caring of their ancestors and remains\u201d in the Iron Age in the British Isles.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIron Age funerary practices are absolutely phenomenal and you really need to be very open-minded because they could come up with all sorts of things,\u201d she continued.\n <\/p>

Read more Is Social Security keeping up with your cost of living? Share your story<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Iron Age Scottish woman likely had her brains scooped out after she died as part of her burial, according to a new study that sheds further light on the complex funerary rites of this prehistoric culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archaeology","category-science","category-unearthed"],"yoast_head":"\nIron Age woman likely had her brains scooped out before burial, study suggests - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2259\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iron Age woman likely had her brains scooped out before burial, study suggests - 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