Sunday, April 10, 2011
Possible Gay Caveman in Czech Republic?
Archaeologists discover first-ever 'gay caveman' in Czech Republic; man buried with pots, not tools
BY Philip Caulfield
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 7th 2011, 9:14 AM Daily News Illustration Archaeologists in the Czech Republic believe they have found the world's first known gay cave man. Take our PollQueer eye for the cave guy? Do you think there could have been a gay caveman? Yes. The archaeologists' arguments sound legitimate. No. Gay caveman? That sounds ridiculous. I'm not sure. Related NewsFor Russia, some love? America reaches arms deal with Russia: Kremlin sourceDoctors find foot-long surgical tool inside woman's abdomen five months after her surgeryPope Benedict taunted by elusive spiderObama scrapping missile shield for Czech Republic, PolandPresident Bush watches U.S. rout Czech RepublicU.S., Czech Republic sign defense agreementArchaeologists in the Czech Republic have dug up the 5,000-year-old skeleton of what they think may be the world's first known gay caveman. Scientists who found the body, which dates back to between 2900 and 2500 BC, said they suspect the caveman may have been a homosexual because he was buried in a way normally reserved for women of the era. The cave-dweller was placed in his grave with his head pointing eastward, along with several domestic pots and jugs, scientists said. Men of this era were typically buried pointing westward, surrounded by weapons such as battle axes and knives, and other tools. The suspected gay caveman did not have any weapons or tools in his grave. "From history and ethnology, we know that people from this period took funeral rites very seriously so it is highly unlikely that this positioning was a mistake," archaeologist Kamila Remisova Vesinova told The Telegraph newspaper. The man lived during the Copper Age in what is known as the Corded Ware culture, which flourished throughout most of Europe during the Stone, Copper and Bronze Ages. The culture received its name because its craftsmen often adorned pottery with chorded decorations. Archeologists Katerina Semradova said in a press conference Tuesday that scientists had discovered similar cases before, including one in which a female warrior was buried as a man and others where prehistoric witch doctors were buried in a style typically reserved for women. "But this later discovery was neither of those, leading us to believe the man was probably homosexual or transsexual," Semradova said.
COMMENTS: = similar burial rites for the Anazasi/Hohokam
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