Everyone knows not to get on the bad side of the Italian Mafia, given the wide array of torture techniques they employ to punish those who dare to cross them. Take ‘incaprettamento’ for instance: traitors are tied up like livestock where a rope is secured between the prone individual’s neck and bent legs — ensuring the victims would strangle themselves. As it turns out, if you were a woman in Neolithic Europe, you wouldn’t even have to incur the wrath of these syndicates to suffer this gruesome death!
When early humans transitioned from hunting and gathering to farming in the Neolithic era, it took a toll on them — particularly on the female demographic. Aside from being subjected to more labour-intensive chores like grinding of grain and weeding of crops, as well as being encouraged to turn into broodmares, the women also became victims to the most inhuman of sacrificial rituals.
New research has identified over a dozen murders where women were traditionally sacrificed in Neolithic Europe across a period of 2,000 years. The technique used was the same as the Italian Mafia — incaprettamento. Not the best time to be alive, no?
The discovery stems from a re-examination of an ancient tomb in southern France dating back 5,500 years. The tomb, resembling a grain silo, held the remains of three women. Researchers now believe two of these women were sacrificial victims, bound in the incaprettamento position and buried alive, judging by the heavy grinding stones used to pin them down.
The study highlights the presence of agricultural symbolism surrounding the tomb. This suggests the sacrifice might have been linked to agricultural practices during the Neolithic period (New Stone Age).
Widespread practice across Europe?
Further investigation revealed evidence of incaprettamento sacrifices at 14 Neolithic sites across Europe, dating from 5400 to 3500 BC. Additionally, rock art from Sicily dating back to the even earlier Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age) appears to depict figures bound in a similar manner.
This suggests the practice of incaprettamento might have originated even before the development of agriculture and later became associated with agricultural rituals. The geographical spread, from the Czech Republic to Spain, indicates it was a widespread custom across Neolithic Europe.
The purpose behind this brutal method remains unclear. One theory suggests it may have been used to create the illusion of self-inflicted strangulation.
This discovery offers a glimpse into a dark aspect of Neolithic European societies and their ritualistic practices. The study's findings raise further questions about the motivations behind these sacrifices and their connection to the development of agriculture.
The findings of this study have been detailed in Science Advances and can be accessed here.
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