Scientists at Harvard University have revealed new details about the victims of the massacre that took place in Croatia 6200 years ago. This is reported in an article published in PLoS ONE magazine.
Experts conducted the largest genetic study of an ancient burial site to date, which contained the remains of 41 killed people. The massacre took place on the territory of Potocani during the Copper Age in 4200 BC. The authors of the scientific work managed to obtain the genomic data of 38 people.
It turned out that the bodies of 21 men and 20 women were buried in the grave, while more than half had not reached the age of 18 at the time of death. Scientists also determined that the victims of the massacre were two children aged two to five years, nine older children aged six to ten years and ten teenagers aged 11 to 17 years. 14 people were between the ages of 18 and 35 and five people were between the ages of 36 and 50. Researchers have not been able to determine the age of another victim.
Most people were not related to each other, but they were a genetically homogeneous group. The authors suggest that a possible cause of the massacre may be associated with a combination of unfavorable climatic conditions, as well as a significant increase in the population.