Ancient Rituals Unearthed: Systematic Bone Modification Reveals a darker Side of China’s Liangzhu Civilization
Yangtze River Delta, China – A groundbreaking archaeological study has revealed a startling and previously unknown practice within the refined Neolithic Liangzhu civilization (c. 5300-4500 years ago): the systematic modification of human bones. Published in the journal Scientific Reports,the research details the first documented evidence of this practice in prehistoric China,offering a chilling new viewpoint on a culture renowned for its advancements in urbanization,jade working,and social organization.
The Liangzhu civilization, flourishing in the Yangtze River Delta, was a society marked by extraordinary achievements. They constructed large, walled settlements complete with palaces, workshops, and elaborate cemeteries – testaments to a highly structured and stratified society. however, this latest discovery suggests a more complex and unsettling aspect of Liangzhu life.
Researchers examined 183 human bones, discovering that 52 exhibited deliberate alterations. These weren’t isolated incidents; the modifications took a variety of forms, indicating a standardized process rather than sporadic, individual acts. The most striking finds include:
* Skull Cups: Created by horizontally cutting the skullcap to form bowl-like vessels.
* Mask-like Skulls: Split across the face, potentially used in ritualistic contexts.
* Modified Mandibles: Lower jaws with flattened bases.
* Shaped Limb Bones: Likely repurposed as tools.
* Small Skull Fragments: Roughly worked into plate-like shapes.
Perhaps the most haunting discovery was a child’s skull bearing polished perforations and abrasions – a unique find with no precedent in Chinese archaeology.
“[Image of Mask-like facial skull (Type B) with caption: Mask-like facial skull (Type B). scale bar is 5 cm. Credit: J. Sawada et al., Scientific Reports (2025) / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0]”
What’s particularly intriguing is that nearly 80% of the modified bones were unfinished. This suggests the material itself wasn’t considered particularly valuable or sacred, and the process may have been abandoned mid-way through. The concentration of these finds at Zhongjiagang, a major workshop site within the Liangzhu urban complex, further supports the idea of a standardized, perhaps even institutionalized, practice.
“[image of Skull with posterior perforations (Type D) with caption: Skull with posterior perforations (type D). Scale bar is 5 cm.Credit: J. Sawada et al., Scientific Reports (2025) / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0]”
Radiocarbon dating places the majority of this bone modification activity between 4,800 and 4,600 years ago – coinciding with the peak of Liangzhu cultural power
