New forensic evidence supports Egyptian "retainer sacrifice"
Summary
New research studied skulls from ancient Egyptian tombs and found that over one-third had signs of blunt force injuries. This suggests that some servants may have been killed on purpose to serve the earliest pharaohs in the afterlife, a practice called retainer sacrifice.Key Facts
- The study looked at skulls excavated from Egypt's Abydos site in the 1920s, where early pharaohs were buried.
- More than one-third of the skulls show evidence of blunt force trauma.
- Retainer sacrifice means servants were killed to accompany pharaohs in the afterlife.
- The skulls were originally analyzed by British archaeologist Flinders Petrie, who preserved them by coating with paraffin.
- There has been a long debate about whether retainer sacrifice really happened in early Egypt.
- Advances in forensic science helped researchers re-examine the skulls more carefully than before.
- The site included graves labeled with officials' names, suggesting they were attendants of the rulers.
- The burial style, with many graves filled and sealed at once, supports the idea of mass sacrifice.
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