Researchers Say Ancient Unearthed Skeletons Killed 'Mafia-Style'

Researchers believe they have pieced together the horrific cause of death for the skeletal remains of two women unearthed from an archaeological site in southwest France, who lived more than 5,500 years ago. In what appears to be a ritualistic sacrifice, the killings were likely a result of a form of torture called "incaprettamento" which is typically associated with the Italian Mafia.

The findings, which were published in a study last week in the journal Science Advances, suggest that the women were killed using the method which involves typing a noose around a person's throat, with the other end tied to the ankles. Eventually, the victim strangles themselves due to the positioning of their legs. A third skeleton was found at the site, however researchers don't know how she died.

Although the grave site was first discovered in the town of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux in 1985, it wasn't until a break caused by the pandemic a few years back that researchers began to tie the remains to other potential sacrifices from around the same time. All, told, they were eventually able to piece together 20 other likely instances of similar killings throughout a period of about 2,000 years across Europe during the Neolithic period.

Though, the study conceded that the actual number was likely higher, but there was insufficient information about remains from other sites to know for sure.

Adding another gristly twist, the study suggests that the women were buried alive, and that death like occurred in the grave.

"If their placement in the grave occurred postmortem and the sole objective was concealment, then a simple act of pushing them under the overhang would have sufficed," the study's authors write. "However, the specific arrangement—stacked atop each other and entwined with fragments of grindstones—implies a more forceful and deliberate placement, strongly suggesting that their demise likely occurred within the burial context."

Due to the placement of the burial site, which was aligned with sunrise at summer solstice and sunset at winter solstice, the researchers believe that the women may have been sacrificed to mark the changing of the seasons.

“There is always this idea that somebody is dying and that the crops will grow," Éric Crubézy, lead author of the study and biological anthropologist at Paul Sabatier University, told CNN. Crubézy was likewise part of original excavation team in 1985.

"In different parts of Europe, it was the same type of sacrifice," he continued. "And this sacrifice is very particular because it’s a cruel one … and you have no blood and no people who killed another, the people killed themselves."