Watch researchers crack skulls for science

In a cave in Tarragona, Spain, about 5000 years ago, someone snuck up behind an older man and hit him over the head with a blunt object, likely killing him. The archaeological record is full of such attacks, yet researchers have struggled to figure out the details of what occurred. Now, they’re a lot closer, thanks to a new study in which scientists smashed a bunch of fake skulls in the lab.

The researchers started with two old-school weapons, axes and adzes—a bit of a cross between a hammer and an ax. Both were popular during the Neolithic age, which ranges from 10,000 to 4500 B.C.E., a time of increased human contact—and violence. For their victims, the researchers created synthetic skulls made of polyurethane, rubber “skin,” and filled with gelatin to resemble the soft tissue of the brain. Then, action!

The gory results , reported this month the Journal of Archaeological Science , showed both weapons left different fracture patterns. Axes created a more symmetrical, oval fracture than the adze, for example. The fractures also indicated physical differences between the attacker and the victim; one with complete penetration into the “brain,” for example, could indicate the attacker was taller, the researchers write. As for the ancient Spanish victim, the scientists may have conclusively solved one mystery about his death: He appears to have been killed by an adze.