Skull cult in the Late Copper Age
Skull cult in the Late Copper Age

Summary/Abstract: Two Late Copper Age burials dating from the later fourth millennium BC uncovered on a sitein the Carpathian Basin provide additional proof for the existence of a skull cult: the two graves uncovered atBalatonlelle (County Somogy) contained two regular burials and the fragments of several human skulls. One ofthe graves contained the burial of a child with a special status: the grave goods were a bracelet of sheet copperfound on the wrist, two beads and some vessels. In addition to the child’s skeleton, the grave also contained theskull fragments of four other children and an adult. Discussed here are several issues raised by these burials. Thestudy covers the currently known varieties of the skull cult of the Late Copper Age, alongside the archaeologicaland archaeogenetic assessment of this unusual burial.

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