Archeologists have made a gruesome discovery at Maszycka cave, an archeological site in Southern Poland. They discovered that the people who once lived there, about 1800 years ago at the end of the last ice age, practiced cannibalism. The ancient inhabitants of the cave were members of the Magdalenian culture.
The Magdalenian culture of ancient western Europe is known to have hunted large game, and to have been skilled at cave art and toolmaking. Maszycka cave has been the site of archeological excavations since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These studies uncovered numerous artifacts, including stone tools, and animal and human bones.
In 2025, an international team of archeologists published new evidence confirming earlier suspicions that the inhabitants of Maszycka Cave practiced cannibalism. The researchers re-examined 63 human bone fragments found during past excavations with modern analytic tools, including advanced three-dimensional microscopy. The techniques allowed them to recognize the distinctive marks made on the human bones using stone tools.
They concluded that human flesh was cut from the bones soon after death, using methods similar to those used to remove meat from animal bones. Long bones were cracked open. The researchers think that, as for animal bones, this was to gain access to the bone marrow, a rich source of fats and nutrients. Skulls were also opened, presumably for access to the brain. The human bones were found mixed with the bones of animals that were clearly eaten. All this evidence supports cannibalism rather than some sort of funeral practice. The researchers think that the victims were members of a rival group defeated in warfare.
A special thanks goes to Dr. Carlos Lorenzo, Professor of Human Evolution, University of Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain, for reviewing today's episode.
Further reading
- Evidence of cannibalism by ancient Magdalenian people found in cave in Poland
- Cannibalism existed 18,000 years ago in Poland, human remains consumed ‘systematically’
- 18,000 year old evidence of cultural cannibalism uncovered in Poland’s Maszytcka Cave
Marginedas et al. 2025 New insights of cultural cannibalism amongst Magdalenian groups at Maszycka Cave, Poland, Scientific Reports, 15:2351, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86093-w