Archaeologists Find Cannibal Bones in Somerset Caves

14,700 years ago, in a cave in Somerset England, our ancestors were eating people. Research suggests that these Ice Age Britons weren't eating human flesh out of necessity but as part of a ritual. But how certain can we be? And could we really be looking at an ancient crime scene? Join Tristan Hughes host of The Ancients and the team at the Natural History Museum, London in this new film as they reveal the incredible story of the discovery of the Gough's Cave Cannibals. Now on display at the Natural History Museum in London, a team of experts including Dr Selina Brace and William Marsh are leading a project to help finally discover just who these people were and perhaps more chillingly, who they were eating. Huge thanks to the Natural History Museum London as well as the Longleat Estate, Cheddar Gorge & Caves for providing access to these unique artefacts. Why not go and see these artefacts for yourself? More information about the exhibition can be found here: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-ca... 00:00 Intro 01:04 Skull cups 03:58 Ice Age bones 05:20 The Discovery 07:00 Radius - Rarest engraving 09:31 Leg bone - Human toothmarks 10:34 Mandible - Fine cut marks 11:23 Why cannibalism? 12:48 Magdalenian culture 13:35 Past research 14:25 Current research 16:32 Ancient DNA Research 18:40 Warfare cannibalism? 19:40 DNA Processing 20:25 Familial relationships of bones 21:08 Age and sex of bones You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more. Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: https://bit.ly/45Y4Oyg