Cannibalism in the Linear Pottery Culture: The Human Remains from Herxheim
Abstract
The Herxheim enclosure, located in the German region of Palatinate, is one of the major discoveries of the last two decades regarding the Linear Pottery Culture, and probably one of the most significant in advancing understanding of how this culture ended. The spectacular deposits, mostly composed of human remains, recovered on the occasion of the two excavation campaigns carried out on the site, grabbed people's attention and at the same time raised several questions regarding their interpretation, which had so far mostly hesitated between peculiar funerary practices, war and cannibalism. The authors provide here an extensive study of the human remains found at Herxheim, focusing mainly on those recovered during the 2005-2010 excavation campaign
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The taphonomic evidence closely matches the indicators documented in other prehistoric assemblages interpreted as cases of cannibalism.
“Taken together, this taphonomic evidence closely matches the indicators documented in other prehistoric assemblages interpreted as cases of cannibalism16,27,28,33,36,42,43,50–52.”
From Evidence of neolithic cannibalism among farming communities at El Mirador cave, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain (2025) · cites this paper as [33]
Later studies suggest the possibility of violence at Herxheim, as evidenced by perimortem cranial injuries and connections to LBK-period massacres.
“While originally interpreted as ceremonial, later studies suggest the possibility of violence, as evidenced by perimortem cranial injuries and connections to LBK-period massacres33.”
From Evidence of neolithic cannibalism among farming communities at El Mirador cave, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain (2025) · cites this paper as [33]
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Saladié, P., & Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A. (2017) · Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory · doi:10.1007/s10816-016-9306-y · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Sala, N., & Conard, N. (2016) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.08.018 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
A history of the LBK in the central Polish lowlands
Whittle, A., Marciniak, A., Pyzel, J., Krueger, M., Lisowski, M., Ramsey, C. B., Dunbar, E., Barclay, A., Bayliss, A., & Gaydarska, B. (2022) · Praehistorische Zeitschrift · doi:10.1515/pz-2022-2041 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Saladié, P., Marginedas, F., Morales, J. I., Vergès, J. M., Allué, E., Expósito, I., Lozano, M., Martín, P., Iglesias-Bexiga, J., Fontanals, M., et al. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-10266-w · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“While originally interpreted as ceremonial, later studies suggest the possibility of violence, as evidenced by perimortem cranial injuries and connections to LBK-period massacres 33 .”
- Authors
- Boulestin, B., & Coupey, A.-S.
- Affiliations
- De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (FR)
- Centre de Recherche en Archéologie, Archéosciences, Histoire (FR)
- Venue
- Archaeopress Publishing Ltd eBooks
- Publisher
- Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
- Published
- 2015-10-31
- OpenAlex
- W2982119359
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2022: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 5 · 2016: 4
- FWCI
- 7.04
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Archaeopress Publishing Ltd eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies
- Keywords
- cannibalism, Linear Pottery culture, human remains, funerary practices, Palatinate, Neolithic, war
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