State of the art forensic techniques reveal evidence of interpersonal violence ca. 30,000 years ago

Abstract

The Cioclovina (Romania) calvaria, dated to ca . 33 cal ka BP and thought to be associated with the Aurignacian lithic industry, is one of the few relatively well preserved representatives of the earliest modern Europeans. Two large fractures on this specimen have been described as taphonomic modifications. Here we used gross and virtual forensic criteria and experimental simulations on synthetic bone models, to investigate their nature. Both forensic trauma pattern analysis and experimental models exclude a postmortem origin for the Cioclovina fractures. Rather, they indicate two incidents of blunt force trauma, the second clearly inflicted with a club-like object. The magnitude and extent of the lesions and the lack of signs of healing indicate a fatal injury. The Upper Paleolithic period is noted for intensified technological innovation, increased symbolic behavior, and cultural complexity. We show that the behavioural repertoire of the earliest modern Europeans also comprised violent inter-personal interactions and murder.

Perimortem versus postmortem damage: The recent case of Cioclovina 1

“…All the comparisons between the figures in Kranioti et al () with the original photographs and radiograph in Rainer and Simionescu () establish without a doubt (a) the completeness of the Cioclovina 1 calvaria at the time of discovery and during its post‐recovery description and (b) the breakage of the cranium subsequent to its original description. The damage took place during World War II, combined with a subsequent incomplete restoration of the skull.…”

“…Old versus new: (a) Kranioti et al () right superolateral view of Cioclovina 1 with details of the depressed area of the right parietal bone (reproduced from their Figure ; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216718.g001); (b) original superior view from Rainer; (c) original right lateral view from Rainer…”

“…Into this context, a recent paper by Kranioti, Grigorescu, and Harvati () undertook an elaborate forensic analysis, including “computed tomography and virtual reconstruction,” along with a “simulation with artificial bone sphere” of the directly dated earlier Upper Paleolithic Cioclovina 1 neurocranium. Based on their analysis of the extent and pattern of breakage to the neurocranial vault, in particular the extensive fractures of the right parietal bone with the depressed position of a piece supero‐posterior of the squamous suture, they concluded: “The results of our study strongly suggest that the Cioclovina fractures represent indisputable hard evidence of fatal interpersonal violence among early Upper Palaeolithic modern humans of Europe.”…”

Prevalence of cranial trauma in Eurasian Upper Paleolithic humans

“…Trauma patterns can serve as an important measure of the lifestyle, organization, and stresses of past human populations, since traumatic injuries are directly linked to violent encounters (Churchill, Franciscus, McKean-Peraza, Daniel, & Warren, 2009;Kranioti, Grigorescu, & Harvati, 2019;Larsen, 2015;Martin, Debra, & Anderson, 2014;Martin, Debra, & Harrod, 2015;Mirazón Lahr et al, 2016;Redfern, 2017b;Sala et al, 2015;Wahl & Trautmann, 2012;Walker, 2001), accidents (Kappelman et al, 2016;L'Abbé et al, 2015;Marinho & Cardoso, 2016;Petaros et al, 2013), impairments and care for the injured (Spikins et al, 2019;Spikins, Needham, Tilley, & Hitchens, 2018;Stodder, 2017;Tilley, 2015Tilley, , 2017Trinkaus, 1983), and reflect the various injury risks resulting from occupational, environmental or social conditions (Collier & Primeau, 2019;Delgado-Darias, Alberto-Barroso, & Velasco-Vázquez, 2018;Lambert & Welker, 2017). Nevertheless, populationwide trauma patterns in UP humans have barely been researched.…”

Cioclovina fractures: Reply to Soficaru and Trinkaus: Perimortem versus postmortem damage: The recent case of Cioclovina 1, Am J Phys Anthropol 2020 172, 135–139

“…In our recent article (Kranioti et al, 2019), we conducted an exhaustive investigation of the fracture patterns presented by the Upper Paleolithic calvaria from Cioclovina, Romania. Using forensic criteria, virtual anthropology and an experimental approach, we demonstrated that the observed fracture pattern could only have resulted from blunt force trauma (e.g., Berryman & Haun, 1996;Hart, 2005) and is evidence of perimortem trauma and interpersonal violence, concurring with the previous interpretation of Ullrich (1979).…”