Posted on 02/16/2011 3:40:26 PM PST by decimon
Ancient Britons were not averse to using human skulls as drinking cups, skeletal remains unearthed in southwest England suggest.
The braincases from three individuals were fashioned in such a meticulous way that their use as bowls to hold liquid seems the only reasonable explanation.
The 14,700-year-old objects were discovered in Gough's Cave, Somerset.
Scientists from London's Natural History Museum say the skull-cups were probably used in some kind of ritual.
"If you look around the world there are examples of skull-cups in more recent times - in Tibetan culture, in Fiji in Oceania, and in India," said Dr Silvia Bello, a palaeontologist and lead author of a scientific paper on the subject in the journal PLoS One.
"So, skulls have been used as drinking bowls, and because of the similarity of the Gough's Cave skulls to these other examples, we imagine that that's what these ancient people were using them for also," she told BBC News.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Drunk out of your skull ping.
You could have asked me first.
Eh, who hasn’t?
Damned odd, drinking from a skull. I always pour it into my skull.
/johnny
Skull caps are more durable than a gourd dipper, so why not use them? The previous owner has no need for them. Seems to be the 'green thing to do'.
Yeah, one of those mornings.
Maybe that's where they kept their jewelry when they were doing the dishes.....down by the riverside...down by the riverside...
‘Skol’ is a term used in lieu of ‘bottoms up’ in scandinavian countries, perhaps elsewhere. Meaning ‘skull’, which the Vikings drank their mead and wine from. Enemies’ skulls.
Didn’t Shakespeare have a skull that he used for inspiration?
Not where I go. We just bust open a head and...
Shot skulls. Used for Slammers.
The British Muslims still do.
After eating the brains, the skull holder need not waste what is left.
Put the lime in the coconut.
It’s a known fact that drinking from skulls ruins the teeth.
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