Ancient men kill 'enemy love'

The ancient men may have executed the neighbors of neighboring tribes to rob their women, the researchers claimed.

When studying the 7,000-year-old skeletons, the science group from Durham University, England, found that one of these groups consisted of only men and children. That proves that women have been separated and their abduction could be the driving force for this attack.

34 skeletons have been found since the 1980s, but new research on atomic isotopes in their teeth suggests they come from three different groups - local groups, herding groups and a "family" of a man, a woman and 2 children.

Traces on the skull revealed that they were executed.(Photo: BBC)

All skeletons have marks on the left side of the skull, indicating that they were hit on the head with an ax, indicating they were executed while blindfolded. The absence of local girls brought scientists to the conclusion that they were arrested instead of being killed.

"It seems that this community is a specific goal, and can happen in a revenge cycle between rival groups," said Dr. Alex Bentley, from the Department of Anthropology, Durham University.

"In Europe at that time, women seemed to be the direct reason for this attack," Alex said. "Our analysis shows that local women are considered a special object and thus have been kept alive."

"It is vital for a group of people with a very small population to find partners," the author concluded.