Lethal interpersonal violence in the Middle Pleistocene

PLoS One. 2015 May 27;10(5):e0126589. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126589. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Evidence of interpersonal violence has been documented previously in Pleistocene members of the genus Homo, but only very rarely has this been posited as the possible manner of death. Here we report the earliest evidence of lethal interpersonal violence in the hominin fossil record. Cranium 17 recovered from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site shows two clear perimortem depression fractures on the frontal bone, interpreted as being produced by two episodes of localized blunt force trauma. The type of injuries, their location, the strong similarity of the fractures in shape and size, and the different orientations and implied trajectories of the two fractures suggest they were produced with the same object in face-to-face interpersonal conflict. Given that either of the two traumatic events was likely lethal, the presence of multiple blows implies an intention to kill. This finding shows that the lethal interpersonal violence is an ancient human behavior and has important implications for the accumulation of bodies at the site, supporting an anthropic origin.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cause of Death
  • Fossils*
  • Hominidae*
  • Skull / injuries*
  • Skull Fractures / diagnosis
  • Violence*

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of the government of Spain (Project Nos. CGL2012-38434-C03-01, 02 & 03). CT scanning was carried out in collaboration with the Laboratorio de la Evolución Humana at the Universidad de Burgos (Spain) with funding provided by the Junta de Castilla y León Project No. BU005A09. Fieldwork at the Atapuerca sites was funded by the Junta de Castilla y León and the Fundación Atapuerca. N.S and A.P.P. have received postdoctoral and predoctoral respectively grants from the Fundación Atapuerca. R.M.Q. has received financial support from Binghamton University (SUNY).