Research Overview

• Middle Stone Age in the Río Campo Region, Equatorial Guinea
• Cannibalistic Practices in the Magdalenian Context: New Insights from Maszycka Cave (Poland)

Middle Stone Age in the Río Campo Region, Equatorial Guinea

Antonio Rosas¹, Antonio García-Tabernero^1,2, Darío Fidalgo¹, Maximilian Fero³ and Juan Ignacio Morales^4,5

¹Group of Paleoanthropology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Madrid, Spain

²Area de Antropología Física, Facultad de C. Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León. Campus Vegazana s/n, 24071, León, Spain.

³Universidad Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial (UNGE), Equatorial Guinea

⁴ Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.

⁵Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain.

Figure 21. Situation maps, adapted from Rosas et al. (2025). A) Map of Africa showing the location of Equatorial Guinea, highlighted with a red ellipse, on the west-central coast of the continent. B) Continental part of Equatorial Guinea (Río Muni) with the surveyed area framed in red. C) Enlargement of that area showing the Río Campo region in detail with the surveyed points (pink) along with those where lithic industry was found (yellow, labelled with point number). The Ntem River (formerly Campo), bordering Cameroon, can be seen to the north.

The study of human evolution within the tropical rainforest ecosystems of Central and West Africa presents a crucial challenge for understanding the biological and cultural development of Homo sapiens (Ben Arous et al., 2025). These environments provide significant insights into early human adaptations and technological strategies, but the lack of comprehensive archaeological and chronological sequences has made it difficult to place them within the broader evolutionary framework. A recent study presents findings from research conducted in the Río Campo region of Equatorial Guinea (Figure 21), focusing on Pleistocene occupations and the persistence of Middle Stone Age (MSA) technologies in this understudied area (Rosas et al., 2025).

Tropical rainforests have long been considered marginal environments for early human habitation due to their challenging conditions, including high humidity, dense vegetation, and resource variability. However, the discovery of extensive MSA lithic assemblages in the Río Campo region challenges this assumption and provides evidence that early human groups successfully occupied and exploited these landscapes. In particular, Campo 11 (Figure 22), situated a few kilometers from Río Campo town (2◦19′06.68″ N, 9◦47′05.00″ E), stood out for its extensive, high-quality material exposure and an abundance of lithic artefacts. A horizon rich in lithic remains and charcoal fragments suitable for radiocarbon dating was detected. This study aims to shed light on the technological, subsistence, and settlement strategies employed by ancient humans at the site, as well as the broader implications for understanding human evolution in Africa based on these early populations (Mercader & Martí, 2003).

Figure 22. General view of the Campo 11 site, showing the 2 × 2 m excavation grid. Adapted from Rosas et al. (2025).

Geological and Chronological Context

Geological analysis of the Río Campo region suggests the development of a meandering fluvial system during the Upper Pleistocene, characterized by sandbars and shallow channel beds overlaying a Cretaceous basement. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon (14C) dating place the occupation phases within these sedimentary units between over 44,000 and 20,000 years ago, with a lower sand unit dating back as far as 76,000 years.

The presence of lithic assemblages within these fluvial deposits, as observed at Campo 11 (Figure 23), indicates that prehistoric populations not only inhabited these riverine landscapes, but also actively exploited the available natural resources. Within these contexts, human groups demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt and thrive, strategically utilizing favorable circumstances to support their daily activities and long-term survival in the region.

Figure 23. Stratigraphic columns from the Campo 11 site in Equatorial Guinea, with a schematic representation of the sediment deposition environment, involving channels and bars. Includes a map showing the location of the columns along the outcrop. Bull’s-eye symbols mark the positions where OSL dating samples were collected. Adapted from Rosas et al. (2025).

Site formation processes further confirm the integrity of these deposits, as sedimentation rates, stratigraphic confinement, and the preservation state of lithic artifacts suggest minimal post-depositional movement. This has allowed us to confirm a sustained human presence during the Late Pleistocene. These findings highlight the importance of fluvial systems as ecological niches that provided water, food, and raw materials for tool production, making them attractive locations for MSA human settlement.

Lithic Industry and Technology

The lithic assemblages from the Río Campo basin reveal a homogeneous technological tradition across 16 sites, with Campo 11 standing out due to its large and well-contextualized collection of 289 artefacts. The primary raw material used was chert, complemented by quartz and quartzite.

Technologically, the assemblages exhibit multiple reduction strategies. These include the use of prepared cores—particularly Levallois cores and centripetal reduction—as well as unipolar longitudinal flaking for blade production, naviform-like core exploitation, and occasional bipolar-on-anvil techniques. The retouched tool assemblage (8% at Campo 11) further reflects this complexity, featuring lanceolate bifacial points that may have served as spear tips for hunting (Figure 24), alongside robust heavy-duty tools like handaxes, cleavers, and wedges.

Figure 24. Lithic remains recovered from the Río Campo region, Equatorial Guinea. Bifacial points, including specimens from the Campo 11 and Campo 42 sites. Adapted from Rosas et al. (2025).

While smaller assemblages from other sites display more variability and less contextual clarity, comparisons with Campo 11 highlight recurring technological patterns. The diversity of reduction strategies and tool types reflects a complex technological system potentially emerging from long-term adaptation to the rainforest environments. Overall, these findings offer crucial insights into the regional cultural variability and adaptive strategies during the Late Upper Pleistocene in the Río Campo region of Equatorial Guinea, revealing the persistence of MSA technological traditions, with elements characteristic of the Acheulean-Sangoan-Lupemban transition, dating back 250,000 to 300,000 years.

Subsistence Strategies and Environmental Adaptation

While direct evidence of diet is limited due to poor organic preservation in tropical environments (Rosas et al., 2022), the technological evidence provides insights into possible subsistence strategies. The presence of heavy-duty tools such as handaxes and cleavers suggests activities related to butchery, plant processing, and woodworking. These tools would have been useful for accessing a diverse range of food resources, including large and small game, tubers, nuts, and other plant materials.

Comparisons with other MSA sites in Africa suggest that early human populations in Río Campo may have practiced broad-spectrum foraging, exploiting a variety of ecological niches within the rainforest. The presence of bifacial points further supports the idea that hunting was an important subsistence strategy, possibly targeting forest-dwelling species. This aligns with recent research indicating that early humans were capable of adapting to rainforest environments much earlier than previously thought (Cornelissen, 2003, Ben Arous et al. 2025).

Cultural and Evolutionary Implications

The Lupemban industries found in Río Campo suggest profound cultural continuity, although the scarcity of high-quality archaeological data prevents definitive conclusions. Two primary hypotheses have been proposed to explain the persistence of these technological traditions: 1) Descendants of Central African hunter-gatherers, maintaining long-standing traditions while adapting to changing ecological conditions and 2) Migrations from East Africa, incorporating MSA technologies and influencing local cultural trajectories.

The absence of Later Stone Age (LSA) technological features in the Río Campo assemblages is particularly significant. Unlike other parts of Africa where LSA bladelet production and microlithic tools became dominant, the Río Campo assemblages remain firmly rooted in MSA traditions. This suggests an extended persistence of these technologies well into the Late Pleistocene and possibly even the Holocene (Scerri et al. 2021).

Conclusions and Future Research

This study provides key insights into Pleistocene human occupation in the African rainforest but also highlights the need for further research to fill the related gaps in the archaeological record. Integrating new discoveries with genetic and paleoenvironmental studies could offer a more comprehensive picture of Central Africa’s role in Homo sapiens evolution. The Río Campo region represents a promising source of information with the potential to redefine narratives about human evolution in tropical forest environments and in turn provide exceptional insights into adaptations to other understudied ecological niches as well.

Future research should focus on: 1) Expanding excavations at key sites such as Campo 11 to obtain larger lithic assemblages and refine chronological frameworks. 2) Conducting use-wear analyses on lithic tools to reconstruct subsistence activities and tool functions. 3) Exploring new sedimentary contexts to uncover additional archaeological layers and improve environmental reconstructions. 4) Implementing palaeobotanical and faunal studies to reconstruct ancient diets and ecological conditions.

By continuing interdisciplinary investigations, we can further unravel the complexities of human adaptation and technological innovation in the challenging rainforest ecosystems of Equatorial Guinea. Understanding how early humans thrived in these environments contributes to broader discussions on the diversity of human adaptations and the evolutionary flexibility of Homo sapiens.

Acknowledgments

The authors extend their gratitude to the various individuals and institutions for their support during the field campaigns and laboratory analyses. We also thanks the TEA editors for their kind invitation. Funding: Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (PID2021-122356NB-I00), PIAR-CSIC, i-COOP and Palarq Foundation.

Bibliography

• Ben Arous, E., Blinkhorn, J.A., Elliott, S., Kiahtipes, C.A., N’zi, C.D., Bateman, M.D., Duval, M., Roberts, P., Patalano, R., Blackwood, A.F., Niang, K., Kouamé, E.A., Lebato, E., Hallett, E., Cerasoni, J.N., Scott, E., Ilgner, J., Alonso Escarza, M.J., Guédé, F.Y., Scerri, E.M.L., 2025. Humans in Africa’s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08613-y.
• Cornelissen, E. 2003. On microlithic quartz industries at the end of the Pleistocene in central Africa: the evidence from Shum Laka (NW Cameroon). African Archaeological Review, 20, pp. 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022830321377
• Mercader, J. and Martí, R. 2003. The Middle Stone Age occupation of Atlantic Central Africa: new evidence from Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. In: Mercader, J. ed., Under the Canopy: The Archaeology of Tropical Rainforests. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, pp. 64–92.
• Rosas, A., García-Tabernero, A., Fidalgo, D., Fero Meñe, M., Ebana Ebana, C., Esono Mba, F., Morales, J.I. and Saladie, P. 2022. The scarcity of fossils in the African rainforest: archaeo-paleontological surveys and actualistic taphonomy in Equatorial Guinea. Historical Biology, pp. 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2022.2057226
• Rosas, A., García-Tabernero, A., Fidalgo, D., Mene, M.F., Ebana, C.E., Ornia, M., ... & Morales, J.I. (2025). Middle Stone Age (MSA) in the Atlantic rainforests of Central Africa. The case of Río Campo region in Equatorial Guinea. Quaternary Science Reviews, 349, 109132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109132
• Scerri, E.M.L., Niang, K., Candy, I., Blinkhorn, J., Mills, W., Cerasoni, J.N., Bateman, M.D., Crowther, A., Groucutt, H.S., 2021. Continuity of the Middle Stone Age into the Holocene. Scientific Reports 11, 70. 10.1038/s41598-020-79418-4.

Go back to top 

Cannibalistic Practices in the Magdalenian Context: New Insights from Maszycka Cave (Poland)

Francesc Marginedas^1,2

¹Institut Català de Paleoecología Humana I Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA)

²Área de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira I Virgili (URV)

Human cannibalism is often seen as a taboo in modern societies. But the reality is much more complex. Through ethnographic, historical and archaeological research, we have learned that these practices occurred across various cultures and environments, often driven by a wide range of motivations. These could include starvation, ritualistic funerary rites, as well as violence and intergroup conflict.

A recent study in Scientific Reports has uncovered intriguing evidence of anthropophagy (cannibalism) among human remains from Maszycka Cave, Poland (Marginedas et al., 2025). These findings contribute to a growing body of evidence suggesting that processing human corpses was a recurring practice during the Magdalenian period, challenging traditional views on mortuary customs in the Late Upper Palaeolithic.

Figure 25. Map showing the 17 Magdalenian sites where human remains with cut marks have been documented. Map by Francesc Marginedas.

Identifying Cannibalism in the Archaeological Record

Identifying prehistoric cannibalism is no easy task. This is especially the case when one is dealing with very early periods. However, thanks to advances in archaeological methods, we have developed sophisticated means by which to make informed guesses about how human remains were processed and consumed by other humans.

The key tool here is taphonomic analysis. By studying specific modifications on human bones—like cut mark distributions, fractures resulting from marrow extraction, human tooth marks and signs of heat damage—we can between distinguish evidence of butchering and consumption from natural processes or funerary rites that did not involve cannibalism. These markers act as clues, helping us piece together what might have happened to these individuals thousands of years ago.

In recent decades, at least 25 cases of cannibalism have been identified in prehistoric Europe, spanning over a million years and involving various hominin species, from Homo antecessor and Neanderthals to Homo sapiens (Saladié and Rodríguez-Hidalgo, 2017). The Magdalenian period in particular has yielded at least 17 sites where human remains show signs of human-induced modifications; five of these cases have been directly associated with cannibalism (Bello et al., 2015; Marginedas et al., 2025; Marsh and Bello, 2023; Sala and Conard, 2016). See Figure 25.

Environmental and Cultural Shifts in the Late Upper Palaeolithic

Around 20,000 years ago, Europe experienced dramatic climate changes as the Last Glacial Maximum came to an end. As the ice sheets retreated, new ecological niches opened up, allowing human populations to spread into areas that had previously been inhospitable. This period marked the rise of the Magdalenian Culture.

Figure 26. Bone and antler artefacts with engravings from Maszycka Cave. Image by Darius Bobak, used here with permission.

Mortuary Practices in the Magdalenian Record

The Magdalenian Culture is famous for its incredible symbolic expressions, like the stunning cave paintings of Altamira (Spain) or many beautiful engravings on bone material. See Figure 26. But when it comes to their mortuary customs, things get even more fascinating. The way they treated their dead was surprisingly diverse—some individuals received careful burials with ochre and grave goods, while others went through a much more complex process, showing signs of intentional manipulation of human remains.

Primary burials (where the body was left intact) are actually quite rare in the Magdalenian world. In France, only about 9% of known Magdalenian sites contain formal inhumations (Le Mort and Gambier, 1992). The absence of complete skeletons in some places hints that human remains were deliberately altered—maybe for secondary burials or symbolic purposes. Even more intriguingly, some bones were repurposed into artefacts such as skull cups and personal ornaments, occasionally featuring detailed engravings (e.g., Bello et al., 2011; 2017). For example, in France, about 40% of Magdalenian individuals show cut marks linked to defleshing (Le Mort and Gambier, 1992), suggesting that these practices were a key part of some Magdalenian mortuary traditions.

Genetic studies are now adding another layer to the story. It turns out that individuals from sites linked to cannibalism seem to share the same ancestry (GoyetQ2), while those from primary burials without signs of cannibalism apparently belong to the Villabruna ancestry (Marsh and Bello, 2023). This suggests that cannibalism might not have been a necessity but rather a cultural practice among specific Magdalenian groups. These discoveries shed light on just how complex and varied their mortuary behaviours were, showing a mix of ritual, symbolism and possibly even social identity embedded in how death was handled.

Maszycka Cave: A Case Study in Magdalenian Cannibalism

Maszycka Cave, located about 20 km from Kraków, Poland, is one of the most intriguing sites for studying cannibalism in Late Upper Palaeolithic Europe. See Figure 27. Excavated in the 1880s, the cave yielded the remains of at least ten individuals—six adults and four children—dated to around 16,350 cal BC (Kozłowski et al, 2012). These bones, likely belonging to a small group or family unit, show undeniable signs of processing, including skinning, defleshing, disarticulation, marrow extraction and even brain removal. See Figure 28. The human remains were found mixed with animal bones, suggesting that both humans and animals were processed and discarded in the same manner and within the same context.

Earlier interpretations suggested that modifications on the skulls indicated a form of ritual treatment unrelated to consumption (Orschiedt et al., 2017). However, recent taphonomic reassessments (Marginedas et al., 2025), along with newly identified postcranial specimens, confirm that these individuals underwent systematic butchery. Interestingly, the modifications observed at Maszycka Cave—particularly the treatment of skulls—differ from ritual practices documented at other Magdalenian cannibalistic sites, such as Gough’s Cave (UK) and Brillenhöhle (Germany), where skulls were deliberately shaped into drinking vessels or ‘skull cups’ (Bello et al., 2011; Marginedas et al., 2020; Sala and Conard, 2016). In contrast, the remains from Maszycka Cave show no evidence of structured ritual treatment. Moreover, their indiscriminate disposal alongside butchered animal remains reinforces the idea that cannibalism in this context may have been driven by intergroup violence rather than particular funerary practices.

Figure 27. Entrance of Maszycka Cave. Image by Darius Bobak, used here with permission.

Figure 28. Example of cut marks on a subadult skull fragment from Maszycka Cave. Image by Francesc Marginedas and Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo.

Social and Cultural Implications

Maszycka Cave case offers valuable insights into hypotheses surrounding social dynamics and conflict during the Magdalenian period. After the Last Glacial Maximum, increasing population densities likely led to greater competition for resources (Maier, 2017), potentially sparking sporadic episodes of violence as seen in contemporary hunter-gatherers (LeBlanc, 2014). In this context, cannibalism may have been linked to warfare or group conflict, as suggested in some cases by the mixed deposition of human and animal remains, the absence of funerary markers and the individuals’ age profiles.

The demographic makeup of the Maszycka Cave assemblage—particularly the presence of children—raises the possibility that a group may have been ambushed and subsequently consumed in a conflict-driven act. Similar cases from other archaeological sites suggest that intergroup violence and funerary rites (rather than survival needs) could have been the primary motivation behind some cannibalistic practices in Magdalenian Europe (e.g., Saladié and Rodríguez-Hidalgo, 2017).

Conclusion

The findings from Maszycka Cave offer deeper insight into the complexity of Magdalenian mortuary practices, emphasizing the variability in how human remains were treated. While cannibalism does not appear to have been a routine practice, evidence from multiple sites suggests that it may have been socially acceptable under certain conditions, particularly in the context of conflict, territorial disputes and within specific funerary rites.

These discoveries challenge conventional views of Magdalenian hunter-gatherers and highlight the importance of rethinking prehistoric mortuary customs through interdisciplinary approaches. The remains from Maszycka Cave, now housed at the Archaeological Museum of Kraków, continue to offer invaluable perspectives on past human behaviours, shedding light on the complex social landscapes of Late Upper Palaeolithic Europe.

Bibliography

• Bello, S.M., Parfitt, S.A. and Stringer, C.B., 2011. Earliest directly-dated human skull-cups. PLoS One, 6(2), p.e17026.
• Bello, S.M., Saladié, P., Cáceres, I., Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A. and Parfitt, S.A., 2015. Upper Palaeolithic ritualistic cannibalism at Gough's Cave (Somerset, UK): the human remains from head to toe. Journal of Human Evolution, 82, pp.170-189.

• Bello, S.M., Wallduck, R., Parfitt, S.A. and Stringer, C.B., 2017. An Upper Palaeolithic engraved human bone associated with ritualistic cannibalism. PLoS One, 12(8), p.e0182127.
• Kozłowski, S.K., Połtowicz-Bobak, M., Bobak, D. and Terberger, T., 2012. New information from Maszycka cave and the Late Glacial recolonisation of Central Europe. Quaternary International, 272, pp.288-296.
• LeBlanc, S., 2014. Forager warfare and our evolutionary past. in Violence and warfare among hunther-gatherers eds. Allen, M. & Jones, T. 26–46 Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press
• Le Mort, F. & Gambier, D., 1992 Diversité du traitement des os humains au Magdalénien: un exemple particulier, le cas du gisement du Placard Charente. in Le peuplement magdalénien: paléogéographie physique et humaine eds. Rigaud, J., Laville, H. & Vandermeersch, B. 29–40 Paris: Editions CNRS.
• Maier, A., 2017. Population and settlement dynamics from the Gravettian to the Magdalenian. Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte, 26, pp.83-101.
• Marginedas, F., Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A., Soto, M., Bello, S.M., Cáceres, I., Huguet, R. and Saladié, P., 2020. Making skull cups: Butchering traces on cannibalised human skulls from five European archaeological sites. Journal of Archaeological Science, 114, p.105076.

• Marginedas, F., Saladié, P., Połtowicz-Bobak, M., Terberger, T., Bobak, D. and Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A., 2025. New insights of cultural cannibalism amongst Magdalenian groups at Maszycka Cave, Poland. Scientific Reports, 15 (1), p.2351.
• Marsh, W.A. and Bello, S., 2023. Cannibalism and burial in the late Upper Palaeolithic: Combining archaeological and genetic evidence. Quaternary Science Reviews, 319, p.108309.
• Orschiedt, J., Schueler, T., Połtowicz-Bobak, M., Bobak, D., Kozłowski, S.K. and Terberger, T., 2017. Human remains from Maszycka cave (woj. Małopolskie/PL): The treatment of human bodies in the Magdalenian. Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt, 47, 423–439
• Saladié, P. and Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A., 2017. Archaeological evidence for cannibalism in prehistoric Western Europe: from Homo antecessor to the Bronze Age. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 24, pp.1034-1071.
• Sala, N. and Conard, N., 2016. Taphonomic analysis of the hominin remains from Swabian Jura and their implications for the mortuary practices during the Upper Paleolithic. Quaternary Science Reviews, 150, pp.278-300.

Go back to top