Shift toward tougher policies raise concerns over human rights
In 1992, a murder victim dating back to 430,000 years ago was found in Sima de los Huesos (Pit of Bones) in Spain.
This victim in particular showed identical skull fractures that indicate they were not accidental, and it's believed that he was then thrown down into the cave, where he remained until he was found centuries later.
The bones showed numerous signs of trauma, including stab wounds and trauma caused by blunt force. They seemed to have been brutally murdered, but we don't know by whom or why. Further tests traced these people's genetic ancestry to the area that is now Turkey.
If you're wondering where the name of the place comes from, it's because 28 other people, believed to be somewhere between Neanderthals and modern humans, were also found there.
This has led scientists and archaeologists to theorize that this would have been a site where people were sacrificed and cannibalized. But by whom, and why?
Not only that, but the bones showed signs that they had been cut, some roasted, others skinned, and some skulls were even shaped into bowls. To add to the mystery, there was no sign of conflict (e.g. no arrowhead wounds).
A collapsed lung caused by a stab wound seems to be the cause of death. The wound was made with "a lightweight, long-range projectile weapon," which means that it was likely a human who killed him. Why and under which circumstances is unknown.
In 2007, a burial pit with the remains of 41 people was found in Lasinja, Croatia. At first, these were believed to have been victims of World War II or the Balkan conflict, but in fact the bones dated back to around 6200 years ago.
A total of 10 Neanderthals were found in the Shanidar Cave in northern Iraq. One of them, Shanidar 3, is believed to have been murdered.
The Yde girl was about 16 when she was murdered. Part of her hair was ripped out, and she was then strangled and stabbed. Was it an execution? A ritual sacrifice? The reason for the crime and the identity of the perpetrator(s) remain a mystery. A monument (pictured) was built in her memory.
In 1897, the remains of a young girl were found in Yde, Netherlands. It's believed that the Yde girl had been in laying in a peat bog since about the 1st century CE.
The Grauballe Man was found in 1952 in Denmark. The body was incredibly well preserved, considering it dated back to somewhere between 400 and 200 BCE. But how did this Iron Age farmer die? Well, it's believed he was murdered. Someone cut his throat in such a deep way that the wound reached his spine. The murder remains a mystery.
The La Brea Woman was discovered alongside her dog, and remains California's oldest murder victim to this day. It remains an unsolved murder.
A number of human remains were found in the tar pits of Rancho La Brea, California, including the 9,000-year-old La Brea Woman.
Ötzi eventually died after being shot with an arrow in his back, in an area that would have hit a major artery. Interestingly, Ötzi appeared to have been resting when he was shot in the back.
It turns out that the last hours of Ötzi's life were spent running away from someone down the mountain. Who was it? We'll never know.
Trudi Buck of Durham University explains: "I think this is definitely a murder or other unnatural death because of the way the body was deposited. ... possibly, it was hit over the head with something, because we have very good preservation of the body ... but not very much of the head."
Georgie was the name archaeologists gave to the remains of a child found in 2012 at the Vindolanda Roman fort in Northumberland, England.
Dating back to around the 3rd century CE, the child is estimated to have been murdered when he or she was about 10. Georgie was of Mediterranean descent, so he or she could have been either a slave or the son or daughter of a Roman family who moved to England.
It gets even more strange, because it was actually illegal to bury a person inside the settlement.
The way the skeleton was found indicates the person was murdered. "His hands [were] tied, and he was face-down in the bottom of a ditch," explained archaeologist Rachael Wood.
A 2,500-year-old victim was unearthed during an archaeological dig near London ahead of the HS2 high-speed rail project.
In 2016, archaeologists discovered the remains of a man on the coast of Rosemarkie, Scotland. It is estimated that the man lived around 1,400 years ago and was about 30 when he died.
As for his death, it's believed that he was brutally struck on the head at least five times before he died. His skull was fractured in multiple places, including his jaw and teeth. Why and by whom remains unknown.
Sources: (Grunge)
See also: Britain's weirdest unsolved murders
In 1996, a mass grave dating back to around 5000 BCE was found in Herxheim, Germany. The bones of about 500 people were unearthed. But it gets weirder: these were not local people.
The La Brea Woman is believed to be either of Pakistani descent or from a Native American tribe. Skull injuries indicate that she was murdered by blunt force trauma.
A CT scan showed that the cause of death was a stab wound in the back, probably inflicted by a dagger with a silver or cooper blade. These were pretty rare back then, which adds to the mystery.
Ötzi was found in 1992 in the mountains between Austria and Italy, but it was not until 2019 that details about his death were revealed.
The Gebelein Man is the name of a body found in Egypt. The body had been mummified naturally due to the country's climate, and dates back to around 3500 BCE. The victim would have been somewhere between 18 and 21 when he was murdered.
There have been many mysterious murders throughout history, but things get even more mysterious when these date back thousands of years. Modern technology allows us to determine the cause of death of really ancient human remains, and indeed to confirm whether or not the person was murdered. And while some murders are fairly easy to link with certain historical events, others not so much. In fact, some of these remain inexplicable to this day.
Intrigued? Click through the following gallery and learn more about unsolved murders of the ancient world.
Unsolved murders of the ancient world
Mysterious deaths uncovered by archaeology
LIFESTYLE Death
There have been many mysterious murders throughout history, but things get even more mysterious when these date back thousands of years. Modern technology allows us to determine the cause of death of really ancient human remains, and indeed to confirm whether or not the person was murdered. And while some murders are fairly easy to link with certain historical events, others not so much. In fact, some of these remain inexplicable to this day.
Intrigued? Click through the following gallery and learn more about unsolved murders of the ancient world.