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The mass graves of the Stone Age

In the Stone Age the average life expectancy was low and infant mortality high. The average life expectancy was around 35 years of age. Skeletons with injuries such as blows, chop wounds and arrow injuries show that life was dangerous. When death came it often struck down many people at a time. From the later Mesolithic period graves have been found with up to eight bodies buried at the same time. In the grave from Gøngehusvej 7 an adult woman was buried with a child. We can only guess what the connection between them was. Is it perhaps a mother and child? We cannot establish the cause of death – the woman survived a heavy blow to the head. No traces are visible upon the skeletons which would point toward the cause of death of the woman and child.

The mass graves of the Stone Age
A "mass grave" containing three bodies from Bøgebakken at Vedbæk, northern Zealand. The adult man on the left was hit by an arrow in the neck and the arrowhead still sits there. By his side lies a woman and between them a small child.
The mass graves of the Stone Age
In Strøby Egede near Køge a mass grave with eight persons of all ages have been found. The women were situated in the southern part of the grave, the men in the northern part. The cause of their death is unknown, however, there are no signs of violence.