Comparative LBK mass violence sites across Central Europe. Asparn-Schletz (Austria) contained dozens of bodies in a ditch dispatched with brutal violence; young women conspicuously absent Talheim (Germany) contained 34 people in a mass grave killed by blunt force and arrow shots Herxheim (Germany) contained more than 1,000 individuals in a mass grave
Context matters in Neolithic archaeology. While Vráble shows possible ritual treatment, other LBK sites reveal unambiguous violence. Asparn-Schletz in Austria (more than 200 individuals killed around 5000 BC), Talheim and Schöneck-Kilianstädten in Germany, and especially Herxheim (1,000+ individuals) demonstrate late LBK society was capable of organized brutality. Findings published in PNAS.
Key Facts
- Asparn-Schletz (Austria) contained dozens of bodies in a ditch dispatched with brutal violence; young women conspicuously absent
- Talheim (Germany) contained 34 people in a mass grave killed by blunt force and arrow shots
- Herxheim (Germany) contained more than 1,000 individuals in a mass grave
- Schöneck-Kilianstädten (Germany) contained 26 people dispatched by blunt force trauma and arrow shots
- Late LBK society was capable of organized violence on a significant scale
- Paper published in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society by Professor Martin Furholt of Kiel University
Source: Does This Mean There Was a Massacre at Vráble-Veľké 7,000 Years Ago? by The Prehistory Guys