British cave yields ice-age skull cups

Scientists from London’s Natural History Museum say the 14,700—year—old skeletal remains found in a cave in southwest England were fashioned in such a meticulous way that their use as bowls to hold liquid seems the only reasonable explanation.

British scientists say they have uncovered three human skulls that ice—age Britons used as drinking cups.

Scientists from London’s Natural History Museum say the 14,700—year—old skeletal remains found in a cave in southwest England were fashioned in such a meticulous way that their use as bowls to hold liquid seems the only reasonable explanation.

The practice of using human skulls as containers has been well documented. But scientists say the three skull—cups - from two adults and a child - are believed to be the oldest directly—dated examples of their kind and the only known from the British Isles.

Silvia Bello, lead author of a report on the findings, said on Wednesday the artefacts demonstrate how skilled early humans were at manipulation of human bodies.