New research suggests that inhabitants of Western Europe during the Palaeolithic era may have intentionally amputated their fingers in ancient rituals to seek assistance from supernatural entities. Archaeologists, led by Professor Mark Collard from Simon Fraser University, analyzed hundreds of cave paintings depicting handprints with missing finger segments. Over 200 ancient handprints revealed intentional amputations, with some losing entire fingers or parts of the upper segment.
The study builds upon Collard’s 2018 hypothesis that finger amputation served as a form of reverence to deities. The research team, including PhD student Brea McCauley, pointed out similar practices in 100 other ancient societies that commemorated lives through handprint and stencil paintings. This led them to conclude that the deliberate finger amputation ritual was independently invented in various societies.
While alternative theories proposed connections to sign language, counting systems, frostbite, or artistic illusions, Collard and McCauley argued that finger amputation was a form of self-mutilation practiced across different cultures. They drew parallels with modern rituals such as fire-walking, face-piercing with skewers, and inserting hooks through the skin to pull heavy chains, all serving similar ritualistic purposes. The researchers presented the example of Dani women in the New Guinea Highlands, who cut off fingers to symbolize the death of a loved one, illustrating the persistence of such rituals in contemporary practices. The study challenges previous interpretations of cave paintings and opens new insights into the cultural and symbolic significance of intentional finger amputation in ancient societies.
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