Abstract
Decapitation is an ancient practice in Asia with inadequate research. The present study reports on the osteological examination of a headless skeleton excavated from a high-status tomb in Chu State style dating back to the late Warring States Period (ca. 3th century BC) in Lu’an, Anhui, China. The individual is identified as a victim of decapitation with five peri-mortem sharp force cut marks on the posterior parts of the cervical vertebrae, and another one on the right second metacarpal. Microscopic observation of the kerfs, the historical records and archaeological evidence support the speculation that the individual could be a warrior of Chu State, who is decapitated after being wounded during the war against the Qin State. The hacking implement and the sequences of the cut marks are further discussed to reconstruct the process of execution. This multidisciplinary reconstruction is the first scientific osteological analysis of the decapitation on the human remains from the Chinese Bronze Age. Moreover, it will enrich our knowledge of the decapitation phenomenon in terms of war and execution in ancient China.
Highlights
Decapitation, in other terms, beheading, is a pervasive worldwide ancient practice which is implemented in different cultural contexts as a cultural phenomenon or social behavior (Aldhouse-Green 2006; Armit 2012; Chacon and Dye 2007; Pearson 2005)
As the execution of decapitation is implemented with the blow struck from back to front, it would produce traumatic lesions affecting the posterior parts of the cervical vertebrae with cut marks
Abundant historical records and some possible related archeological discoveries on decapitation have been recognized in Asia, especially in China, the scientific osteological analysis of the ancient practice is far less adequate
Summary
Decapitation, in other terms, beheading, is a pervasive worldwide ancient practice which is implemented in different cultural contexts as a cultural phenomenon or social behavior (Aldhouse-Green 2006; Armit 2012; Chacon and Dye 2007; Pearson 2005). By severing the head from the body, decapitation could be a ritual mortuary. The removal of heads is recognized as early as in the Neolithic period (Simmons et al 2007; Talalay 2007). In the Levant of the northern Syria, the postmortem decapitation is implemented using stone tools during the early Pre-Pottery Neolithic period, roughly 12,000–10,500 BP as a ritual mortuary practice before the body was totally decomposed (Kanjou et al 2015). In America, the case study of the earliest mortuary ritualized decapitation could be dated back to cal.
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