“What we are seeing is the crime scene, but also what their daily lives were like.”In one house they uncovered an older man, perhaps in his 60s, whose pelvis bones were charred. But what was most striking about this man, who the team said may have been a chieftain or religious leader, was that someone had shoved a handful of sheep teeth into his mouth. “We think they tried to humiliate this person beyond death,” Dr. Victor said. It was customary during this time period to bury the dead with coins so they could pay their way into the afterlife. The deliberate placement of sheep teeth, Dr. Victor said, suggested the attackers wanted to thwart any chance the person had of making the passage.

Source: New York Times April 25, 2018 20:33 UTC