9000-Year-Old Skull May be Earliest Known Decapitation

Their discovery may mark the oldest such example of decapitation seen in the New World to date.

André Strauss and colleagues from Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology examined the skull and nearby bones and objects minutely and tested their age with radiocarbon dating. The remains were found to be between 9,127 and 9,438 years old – 4,000 years older than the earliest known decapitation in South America, and 1,000 years older than that from North America.

Ritualized decapitations in South America were definitely a common thing, according to the researchers, with rich evidence of this practice found in both ethnographic literature and the archeological record.

The remains were found inside an environmentally protected, savanna type region in eastern central Brazil called Lagoa Santa or “Holy Lake” in Portuguese.

Humans more or less continuously occupied the rock shelter of Lapa do Santo from 12,000 years ago, the evidence suggests. The area, which is covered in savanna-type vegetation as well as forests, was explored heavily in the 19th century by researchers looking for evidence of interactions between prehistoric humans and giant animals, such as saber-toothed cats and ground sloths.

It is still unclear why these ritual beheadings took place in Lapa de Santo as researchers also reveal that the chemical and physical attributes of the bones trace back to one of the members of this ancient group that lived in the cave, meaning that this body was not considered as a war trophy. It is believed to be the oldest reliably dated cave drawing in the Americas. The careful arrangement of the hands over the face is compatible with an important public display in the ritual that could have worked to enhance cooperation within a community. The bones were buried about 22 inches (55 centimeters) below the surface, under limestone slabs, which suggests they were part of a deliberate ritual entombment, the researchers said. Strauss has been excavating at the site since 2001, and he and his team discovered the lone skull back in 2007 with the two severed hands draped over either side of its face. Until now, only relatively simple burials had been uncovered in Lagoa Santa, Strauss said. “Lapa do Santo, located in the lowlands of east-central South America, indicates that decapitation does not necessarily have a restricted Pan-Andean distribution”. Instead, the people at this site may have used these remains to express their ideas regarding death and the universe, Strauss said.

The discovery is detailed in a study published in the open-access journal PLOS One.