Prehistoric murder indicated by newly discovered skull

There's a prehistoric murder mystery in the news, and it's not the plot of a movie. Rather, researchers have discovered a 430,000 year old skull that is thought to be the oldest (discovered) murder victim remains. The skull is said to belong to a primitive person of Neanderthal lineage, and it was found nestled deeply within a Spanish cave. There are a couple fractures visible, both of which point toward a single weapon that was likely used to murder the victim.

The victim was a prehistoric relative of humans, and was apparently struck twice in the head with a single weapon, which caused two visible fractures in the skull that are similar in size.

The murder victim was, then, buried in a funerary site down a cave shaft in the Atapuerca mountains. That funerary site is called 'Sima de los Huesos', which stands for "Pit of the Bones" in Spanish.

Before this, researchers had discovered the remains of a murder victim dating about 230,000 years. Alongside the murder victim in this latest discovery, the remains of an additional 30 or so people were found in the Pit. It isn't known whether this murder victim was a man or a woman, but the individual was said to be a young adult.

SOURCE: Reuters