Thousands of bones and hundreds of weapons reveal grisly insights into a 3,250-year-old battle

By Free Republic | Created at 2024-09-25 02:42:32 | Updated at 2024-10-02 16:32:28 1 week ago

Thousands of bones and hundreds of weapons reveal grisly insights into a 3,250-year-old battle
C(linton) N(on) N(ews) ^ | September 24, 2024 | Ashley Strickland, CNN

Posted on 09/24/2024 6:46:26 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

There are no written accounts describing the battle, so as teams of archaeologists have unearthed more finds from the valley, they have used the well-preserved remains and weapons to try to piece together the story behind the ancient battle scene.

Now, a team of researchers studying arrowheads used in the battle has discovered evidence that it included local groups as well as an army from the south. These findings, published Sunday in the journal Antiquity, suggest the clash was the earliest example of interregional conflict in Europe — and raise questions about the state of organized, armed violence thousands of years ago...

Previous discoveries of foreign artifacts, such as a Bohemian bronze ax and a sword from southeastern Central Europe, and analyses of the remains have suggested that outsiders fought in the Tollense Valley battle. But the researchers of the new study were curious to see what clues the arrowheads would yield.

When Inselmann and his colleagues analyzed the arrowheads, they realized that no two were identical — not exactly shocking before the days of mass production. But the archaeologists could pick out key differences in the shapes and features that signified some of the arrowheads were not made within Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a state in northeast Germany that's home to the Tollense Valley.

Inselmann collected literature, data and examples of more than 4,700 Bronze Age arrowheads from Central Europe and mapped out where they came from to compare them with the Tollense Valley arrowheads.

Many matched the style of arrowheads from other sites in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, suggesting they were locally made and carried by men who called the region home, according to the study.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...

TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientautopsies; europe; godsgravesglyphs; lactoseintolerance; tollensevalley

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you.

1 posted on 09/24/2024 6:46:26 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

An ancient skull recovered from the Tollense Valley site was found perforated with a bronze arrowhead.Volker Minkus/Minkusimages

2 posted on 09/24/2024 6:48:33 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)

To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

Thanks for the link!

3 posted on 09/24/2024 6:48:39 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)

To: SunkenCiv

Why was the long bow at Agincort such a technologic innovation when they were shooting arrows around for millenia?

4 posted on 09/24/2024 7:06:08 PM PDT by sopo

To: SunkenCiv

Fascinating. Gruesome, but fascinating.

5 posted on 09/24/2024 7:08:31 PM PDT by mairdie (Trump (I Will Win) - Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma https://youtu.be/MigUKGKr-nQ)

To: sopo

Why was the long bow at Agincort such a technologic innovation when they were shooting arrows around for millenia?

It wasn't just the bow.

There exist enormous differences between bows.

The English Longbow shot heavy arrow to long distances. Archers were trained for decades to develop skill and muscles.

English archers were recognized as superior to most others.

6 posted on 09/24/2024 7:10:16 PM PDT by marktwain (The Republic is at risk. Resistance to the Democratic Party is Resistance to Tyranny. )

To: sopo

Why was the long bow at Agincort such a technologic innovation when they were shooting arrows around for millenia?

Power: the English longbows were among the most powerful bows ever made. They had a long range and would go through poorly made armor if they had a good steel, penetrating head.

7 posted on 09/24/2024 7:11:58 PM PDT by pierrem15 ("Massacrez-les, car le seigneur connait les siens" )

To: sopo

It wasn’t an innovation. It just happen to be the right weapon, at the right place, at the right time.

8 posted on 09/24/2024 7:16:26 PM PDT by MCF (If my home can't be my Castle, then it will be my Alamo)

To: SunkenCiv

and raise questions about the state of organized, armed violence thousands of years ago...

Surely this must be wrong, organized armed violence is unheard of before the "far right-wing" groups of our times.

9 posted on 09/24/2024 7:25:10 PM PDT by It Aint Easy

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Read Entire Article