Human sacrifices surround the ancient Mesopotamian tomb

About 5,000 years ago, Mesopotamians buried two 12-year-old boys and girls and surrounded their thin bodies with hundreds of bronze irons and eight human sacrifices, a new study reveals .

The eight human sacrifices were placed just outside the grave, located on the Basur Höyük site in southeastern Turkey, according to the researchers. The team determined the age of six human sacrifices and found that the victims were between 11 and 20 years old

These two 12-year-old children, along with the eight human sacrifices, "had been dropped in a unique event, and furnished with an unprecedented number of high-ranking funeral properties for the period and region, "the researchers wrote in a study published online yesterday (June 28) in the journal Antiquity.

The mysterious grave was discovered 2014, said the two study researchers, Brenna Hassett, a postdoctoral researcher at the Natural History Museum in London; and Haluk Sağlamtimur, Professor of Archeology at the Ege University of Izmir, Turkey. [25 Cultures That Practiced Human Sacrifice]

The remains of an adult were also found next to the two children, but this body could have come from an earlier burial that had blended with the two 12-year-olds , Hassett told Live Science

. And while the evidence is not 100% clear, scientists are pretty sure the eight people were sacrificed.

"Although we have evidence of severe trauma on two of the skeletons, it is important to remember that violent death always leaves a mark on the skeleton," Hassett said. "As an ominous example, stab wounds normally target the soft parts of the body, which do not preserve them."

She added that "from the careful dressing and positioning of the bodies to the outside of the main bedroom door, it seems that the eight would have been retention sacrifices". The term "sacrifice of retention" refers to those who have been sacrificed to accompany or serve others in the afterlife.

Human sacrifices were buried with textiles, beads and ceramics

The Mysterious Sacrifices

Archaeologists with a series of mysteries. Who were the two 12 year olds who seem to be at the center of the funeral? Have they also been sacrificed? In addition, why were human sacrifices made on this site?

"Unfortunately, the preservation was not good inside the room, so we have no evidence that the children [two 12-year-old] were sacrificed". . But because the two 12-year-olds received such a complicated burial, it seems that they had to "have a significant biosocial status," writes Hassett and Sağlamtimur in the study.

Archaeologists know that human sacrifices have also occurred on other sites in Mesopotamia, including a nearby site called Arslantepe, which also dates back to around 5000 years ago.

"One thought is that we are witnessing Basur Höyük part of a phenomenon that we see in other societies around the world, where power is consolidated in a more structured and formal hierarchy, which archaeologists would call the "first states," said Hassett

is a demonstration of power by an increasingly hierarchical society, the power to dispose of great wealth – and even people – could be the same type of power you need to build a state corporation, "said Hassett. "It's a really fascinating puzzle that will tell us more about how human societies are forming and changing."

In the future, the team plans to do some analysis of what's going on. stable isotopes (a kind of study on place of birth and diet). deceased individuals) and DNA studies on skeletons.

Original article on Live Science.