"Heads were skinned and muscles removed from the brain case in order to remove the skullcap. Incisions and scrapes on jaws indicate that tongues were cut out." "Scrape marks inside the broken ends of limb bones indicate that marrow was removed." "Whatever actually happened at Herxheim, facial bones were smashed beyond recognition." - Neolithic mass canibalism in southern Germany.
posted by Artw on Dec 5, 2009 - 85 comments

Why humans started huddling together in cities is still shrouded in mystery but if the question is ever settled the answer will probably be found in Çatalhöyük, a settlement of five to eight thousand located in what is now Turkey that came into existence around 7500 BC. The current head archaeologist of the Çatalhöyük Project is Ian Hodder, one of the leading lights in postprocessual archaeology, who summarized his finding in a recent article in Natural History Magazine. The Çatalhöyük Project website is a treasure trove of information about the ancient settlement. [more inside]
posted by Kattullus on Dec 29, 2007 - 24 comments

Prehistoric art in the American Southwest.
posted by snsranch on Feb 6, 2006 - 9 comments

Artifacts were lying on the ground untouched for more than 1,000 years.
For sixty years Waldo Wilcox, a rancher in Utah, kept people off his land about 130 miles South of Salt Lake City. The reason was a string of prehistoric indian settlements that stretch 12 miles. (more inside)
posted by wsg on Jun 25, 2004 - 13 comments