Mass violence in Copper Age Europe: The massacre burial site from Potočani, Croatia

Abstract

Objectives: To provide a comprehensive analysis of perimortem cranial injuries found on human remains from the Eneolithic (ca. 4200 BCE) mass grave discovered at Potočani, Croatia, to test if the assemblage is a result of a deliberate violent episode on a massive scale.Materials and Methods: Standard bioarchaeological analysis, including inventory of the preserved elements, minimum number of individuals, sex determination, age at death, as well as pattern and distribution of trauma, was recorded.Results: A minimum of 41 people are present in the sample. Both sexes and almost all age groups are represented, with a prevalence of children and young adults. Four blunt force antemortem injuries are registered in three adult males and one subadult while perimortem injuries are recorded on 13 crania with a total of 28 injuries. The distribution of perimortem injuries is not patterned with age, sex, or siding, and their location is on lateral, posterior, or superior parts of the crania. No "defensive wounds" or other type of injuries are observed on postcranial elements.Discussion: The injuries, manner of disposal of the bodies, radiocarbon dates, and other available data strongly suggest that the Potočani sample represents a single episode of execution during which the Potočani people were unable to defend themselves. The Potočani massacre is the oldest such example in southeastern Europe and provides additional evidence that indiscriminate violence on a massive scale is not a product of modern societies.

Proceedings from the 8th and 9th Scientific Conference Methodology and Archaeometry

“…An almost identical situation was also registered at the catastrophic skeletal assemblage from Potočani (Eneolithic Lasinja culture) representing the victims of a massacre (Janković and Novak 2018;Janković et al 2021) where half of the individuals were children under the 18 years of age and most of the adults belonged to the youngest age group. Also, the reconstructed height of a young female from G1 of about 157 cm might seem very low by modern standards, but similar heights were recorded for most females from the nearby site of Beli Manastir -Popova zemlja (average height of 156 cm) (Novak et al 2018;Jovanović et al 2021).…”

On the traces of lost identities: chronological, anthropological and taphonomic analyses of the Late Neolithic/Early Eneolithic fragmented and commingled human remains from the Farneto rock shelter (Bologna, northern Italy)

“…Besides single primary the taphonomic study of the human remains led to hypothesise the presence of funerary treatment of corpses and modification of human bones, episodes of intergroup violence in the form of raids and ambushes and cannibalistic practices. For the Farneto rock shelter, we have not found evidence of extensive intergroup violence as documented for example at Schöneck-Kilianstädten (Germany, Neolithic LBK; Meyer et al 2014Meyer et al , 2015, Talheim (Germany, Neolithic LBK; Meyer et al 2014) and Potočani (Croatia, Eneolithic;Janković et al 2021). In fact, we observed very few specimens, especially crania (Table 4; S2), with lesions compatible with violent strokes (even if the number could be underestimated due to the bad state of preservation of the bones).…”

Conflict, violence, and warfare among early farmers in Northwestern Europe

“…It is likely that the datasets that survive contain examples of both, although in a society characterized by relatively small groups, the loss of even a small number of individuals could harbor severe negative consequences in terms of adaptive fitness and long-term survival. Consequently, it is reasonable to suggest that nonlethal assaults are more likely, on balance, to relate to violence within communities, while at least the majority of lethal injuries more likely occurred between groups ( 73 ). This latter suggestion might raise objections over the problem of discerning intent.…”