In the 19th century, archaeologists in Poland unearthed a stunning cave filled with prehistoric secrets. The Maszycka Cave, as it’s called, once sheltered Magdalenian people 18,000 years ago. Now, a new study offers compelling evidence that the cave was the site of a grisly ritual — or perhaps something even darker. Did these ancient people consume their enemies?
We don’t know much about the Magdalenians, but what we do know is unsettling. Unlike earlier cultures that practiced more traditional burials, Magdalenian groups engaged in bizarre mortuary behaviors. These included on defleshing, disarticulation, and repurposing human bones. Some remains were crafted into artifacts like skull cups and personal ornaments, and others bore intricate carvings.
Scholars have debated whether these practices were purely ritualistic or had a more practical component. Maszycka Cave, located in southern Poland, provides a significant dataset for examining these questions.
Initial research in the 1990s posited that the site contained evidence of skull selection, possibly for ritual purposes. However, the latest analysis of newly examined postcranial remains, combined with a re-evaluation of cut marks and breakage patterns, suggests a more complex and possibly darker practice — cultural cannibalism.
Evidence for cannibalism
The latest study analyzed human remains from at least ten individuals — six adults and four juveniles. Astonishingly, two-thirds of the bones exhibit human-induced modifications, including cut marks, percussion marks, and breakage patterns consistent with marrow extraction.
Many bones, particularly cranial fragments, exhibit parallel incisions associated with scalping and soft tissue removal. Mandibles and parietal bones show clear evidence of deliberate defleshing, while long bones display marks related to muscle removal and dismemberment.
The study confirms that the marks and fractures on the bones were not caused by scavengers. Unlike animal-gnawed bones, which display characteristic punctures and scoring, the Maszycka remains bear precise modifications indicative of human activity.
“The location and frequency of the cut marks and the intentional fracturing of the skeleton clearly indicate nutritional exploitation of the bodies, ruling out the hypothesis of funerary treatment without consumption,” writes evolutionary anthropologist Francesc Marginedas of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution in a statement.
Funerary rituals or pragmatic cannibalism?
A major debate surrounding Magdalenian mortuary treatment is whether these modifications were part of funerary customs or evidence of outright cannibalism. The new study leans heavily toward the latter.
At known ritual cannibalism sites, human remains typically show modification rates of only 1-5%. In contrast, over 60% of the bones from Maszycka Cave exhibit butchering marks — suggesting a more pragmatic reason for consumption.
The selective processing of long bones for marrow extraction, along with percussion marks on skulls, indicates that these bodies were treated more like animal carcasses than honored ancestors. Furthermore, the disorganized scattering of bones suggests practical consumption rather than a respectful burial practice.
But this also raises intriguing questions. Archaeological studies have shown that this was a period of climatic stability with abundant game, so food shortages were unlikely. So, why? Why did the Magdalenians do it?
Eat your enemies
Some cultures have practiced endocannibalism as a way to honor the dead by consuming their remains. While this cannot be ruled out, it’s unlikely here. There’s no sign of a careful ritual (such as careful bone arrangement or ornamentation) here. You would expect the bones to be arranged respectfully in some way.
The more likely scenario is exocannibalism: eating those outside of your group, maybe even your foes.
The researchers suggest that the Maszycka assemblage may represent the remains of individuals captured and consumed during intergroup conflict. Magdalenian populations were expanding across Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum, leading to increased competition for resources. In this scenario, cannibalism may have been a form of social dominance, vengeance, or a way to eliminate rivals.
While the exact motivations remain open to interpretation, the evidence suggests that Magdalenian cannibalism was not simply a response to starvation but part of a broader cultural framework. It’s happened more than once or twice; it was a common occurrence.
Journal Reference: Marginedas, F., Saladié, P., Połtowicz-Bobak, M., Terberger, T., Bobak, D., Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A. (2025). New insights of cultural cannibalism amongst Magdalenian groups at Maszycka Cave, Poland. Sci Rep 15, 2351 (2025).
