Ancient humans who buried their dead in caves went back up to a year later to harvest body parts for tools and food.

Those are the findings of a new study into the Cueva de los Marmoles, a cave in Andalusia, Spain, that for almost 100 years has revealed many secrets about how our ancestors lived and died.

Dr Marco Milella and his two co-lead researchers Dr Zita Laffranchi and Professor Rafael Martínez Sánchez identified the remains of at least 12 individuals that had been manipulated after death, including the fashioning of bones into tools by other humans – possibly after they had eaten the marrow inside.

In addition to long leg and arm bones sharpened to a point, the cave also revealed a ‘skull cup’ which had been scraped clean for use.

Scraping and slicing marks were the most commonly found evidence of manipulation, and there was no sign of force, suggesting they were removed while partially decomposed.

Cut and chop marks were less commonly seen, typically on skulls.

The relative scarcity of bite and gnawing marks on the bones suggest the damage done to skeletons was not due to animals.

Carbon dating shows the cave was in use over several millennia, from approximately 3900 to 3750 BCE, 2600 to 2300 BCE and 1400 to 1200 BCE.

‘This evidence points to complex actions, likely aimed at managing and facilitating the transition between life and death, as well as the social managing of loss of community members,’ said Dr Milella, from the University of Bern, Switzerland.

‘Our study shows the cave was used for funerary purposes for an extended time span, suggesting a cultural centrality of this place for the prehistoric communities living in the region and, possibly, orally transmitted traditions regarding the symbolisation of the surrounding landscape.’

Dr Milella said he was astounded by the results, which not only showed the long-term cultural relevance of the cave, but also the similarity between features identified in other studies of Neolithic and Bronze Age communities from the same region. This suggests widespread practice of buried human remains later being utilised for food and tools.

‘This is really intriguing as it suggests shared ideologies surrounding the human body, and death, extending for millennia,’ he said.

Although found in the Cueva de los Marmoles, the remains are currently housed at the Municipal Historical Museum of Priego de Córdoba. 

Dr Milella praised both his team and the museum in making the discovery, adding: ‘The result of our study clearly demonstrates the usefulness of a collaboration between researchers and institutions.’

The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

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