Did Iron Age Britons remove brains of the dead?
Did Iron Age Britons remove brains of the dead?
铁器时代的英国人会移除死者的大脑吗？
Very little is known about funerary practices in Iron Age Britain, since few human remains have survived. However, the environment in northwest Scotland is more conducive to preserving bone from that period. Archaeologists have previously noted evidence of postmortem manipulation of human remains, such as mummification, and of modifying human bones into tools or decorative artifacts. Now a new paper published in the journal Antiquity describes evidence of postmortem brain removal in remains from that region, as well as sharpened limb bones, possibly for use as tools.
由于留存下来的人类遗骸很少，人们对铁器时代英国的丧葬习俗知之甚少。然而，苏格兰西北部的环境更有利于保存那个时期的骨骼。考古学家此前曾注意到人类遗骸在死后被处理的证据，例如木乃伊化，以及将人骨改造成工具或装饰品。现在，发表在《古物》（Antiquity）杂志上的一篇新论文描述了在该地区发现的遗骸中存在死后移除大脑的证据，以及可能被用作工具的磨尖肢骨。
The remains in question were found in 2000 at a burial cairn in Loch Borralie, near the most northwest tip of the Scottish mainland, after erosion revealed a human cranium. The excavated remains belonged to two individuals: one an adult female and the other a juvenile of (at the time) indeterminate sex; the cranium belonged to the latter. The authors of the new paper conducted a fresh osteoarchaeological analysis as well as multi-isotope and ancient DNA analysis. Radiocarbon dating of molar teeth from both sets of remains placed their deaths as occurring between 50 BCE and 70 CE.
这些遗骸于2000年在苏格兰大陆最西北端的博拉利湖（Loch Borralie）的一个墓冢中被发现，当时侵蚀作用使一个人类颅骨显露出来。挖掘出的遗骸属于两个人：一个是成年女性，另一个是当时性别不明的青少年；该颅骨属于后者。这篇新论文的作者对遗骸进行了新的骨考古学分析，以及多同位素和古DNA分析。对两具遗骸臼齿的放射性碳测年显示，他们的死亡时间在公元前50年至公元70年之间。
In the case of the female individual, the authors noted an unusual break at the base of the cranium that likely occurred near the time of death. It’s the kind of fracture that one gets from high-velocity impacts, including vehicular collisions, sporting accidents, falls, assaults, or even long-drop hanging. But the known forensic patterns observed in the aforementioned scenarios don’t exactly match the pattern of the Iron Age cranium, leading the authors to conclude that it likely resulted from a targeted impact. They also noted perimortem fractures on both scapulae.
在女性遗骸方面，作者注意到颅骨底部有一处不同寻常的断裂，很可能发生在死亡前后。这种骨折通常由高速撞击造成，包括车祸、运动事故、跌落、袭击，甚至是长距离坠落悬挂。但上述场景中已知的法医模式与这具铁器时代颅骨的模式并不完全吻合，这使作者得出结论：它很可能是由针对性的撞击造成的。他们还注意到两侧肩胛骨上存在围死亡期（perimortem）骨折。
But the most interesting finding was several straight, parallel striations inside the skull, indicating the brain matter had been methodically scraped out with a sharp instrument shortly after death. This would be the first known instance of such a practice in the region, although in southern France and Bulgaria, there is archaeological evidence of cutting out sections of bone post-mortem and refashioning them into amulets.
但最有趣的发现是颅骨内侧有几条笔直且平行的条纹，这表明大脑组织在死后不久就被某种锋利的工具系统地刮除了。这将是该地区已知此类做法的首个案例，尽管在法国南部和保加利亚，已有考古证据表明当地存在死后切割骨骼并将其改造成护身符的做法。
Furthermore, four of the woman’s long bones (both humeri, the left ulna, and the left femur) showed marks that had previously been identified as tooth marks, suggesting rodents had gnawed at the bones. The authors disagreed with that earlier assessment, concluding that the bone marks were more consistent with whittling using a sharp implement. Three of the four bones had been whittled to a sharp edge, while the fourth seemed to have been worn down through use as a tool after being whittled into a sharpened point. Yet all four bones were ultimately placed in the correct anatomical position once they were laid in the grave.
此外，该女性的四根长骨（双侧肱骨、左尺骨和左股骨）上留下的痕迹曾被认定为齿痕，暗示曾有啮齿动物啃食过这些骨头。作者不同意这一早先的评估，认为这些骨骼上的痕迹更符合使用锋利工具削刻的特征。四根骨头中有三根被削成了锋利的边缘，第四根似乎在被削尖后因作为工具使用而磨损。然而，这四根骨头在放入墓穴时，最终都被放置在了正确的解剖位置上。
Other archaeologists remain unconvinced that the woman’s brain had been removed or that the long bones had been deliberately whittled down into tools. “The marks certainly suggest some manipulation of the cranium, but whether we can link them to the brain removal, I don’t know,” Richard Madgwick of Cardiff University, who was not involved in the research, told New Scientist. Madgwick thinks the long bones may have already been broken and were simply repurposed as tools and finds it “remarkable” that the used bones were then placed back in the ground in anatomical order.
其他考古学家仍不相信该女性的大脑曾被移除，也不认为这些长骨是被刻意削成工具的。未参与此项研究的卡迪夫大学的理查德·马奇威克（Richard Madgwick）告诉《新科学家》杂志：“这些痕迹确实表明颅骨经过了某种处理，但我不知道我们是否能将其与大脑移除联系起来。”马奇威克认为，这些长骨可能在之前就已经断裂，只是被重新利用为工具，他觉得这些被使用过的骨头随后又按解剖顺序放回地下，这一点“非常引人注目”。
As for the young person’s remains, the ancient DNA analysis showed he was male. The authors concluded he was between 14.5 and 15.5 years old when he died, and the bones showed signs of growth disruption and vitamin C deficiency. Both individuals were genetically typical of Scottish Iron Age populations. The isotope analysis suggested they had both spent the early part of their lives in a coastal environment—most likely the east coast of Sutherland—moving to the Loch Borralie area after childhood. They were close biological relatives, possibly maternal second cousins.
至于那名年轻人的遗骸，古DNA分析显示他为男性。作者推断他去世时年龄在14.5岁至15.5岁之间，骨骼显示出有生长中断和维生素C缺乏的迹象。这两个人在基因上都是典型的苏格兰铁器时代人群。同位素分析表明，他们早年都生活在沿海环境——很可能是萨瑟兰（Sutherland）东海岸——童年后才搬到博拉利湖地区。他们是亲密的生物学亲属，可能是母系表亲。
The cairn’s layers indicate they were not buried at the same time, however, and their bodies did not receive the same postmortem treatment. “The genetic and isotopic evidence highlights long-term interconnectedness between maritime communities around the north coast and Northern Isle of Scotland, where individuals and small groups periodically moved across wide areas, facilitating the maintenance and spread of cultural ideas and practices,” the authors concluded. And the treatment of the woman’s bones “demonstrates that, although sparse in terms of their archaeological survival, the Iron Age dead held a strong and compelling presence in the world of the living.”
然而，墓冢的层位表明他们并非同时下葬，且他们的遗体也没有受到相同的死后处理。“遗传和同位素证据突显了苏格兰北海岸和北部岛屿周边海洋社区之间的长期相互联系，个人和小群体定期在广阔的区域内迁徙，促进了文化理念和习俗的维持与传播，”作者总结道。而对该女性骨骼的处理“证明了尽管铁器时代的遗骸在考古留存方面很稀少，但死者在生者的世界中依然占据着强大而令人瞩目的地位。”