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Intentional cutmarks on an early mesolithic human calvaria from Margaux Cave (Dinant, Belgium)
1Direction de l'Archéologie, Service public de Wallonie, 1 rue des Brigades d’Irlande, Namur, Belgium. michel.toussaint@spw.wallonie.be
Abstract:
Margaux Cave (Belgium) yielded a Pre-Boreal Early Mesolithic burial covered by what resembled a burial mound. The hundreds of human bones excavated belonged to 7 to 10 adult females. Among these bones, the CR3 cranium presents numerous cutmarks on both zygomatic processes, on the frontal squama and along the two coronal sutures, as well as on the left part of the posterior cranium. The cutmarks on the zygomatic processes correspond to the removal of the mandible while those on the top of the forehead and the occipital may result from the removal of the scalp. Therefore, these cutmarks may be interpreted as part of a mortuary ritual.
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