Embracing Skeletons of Alepotrypa
The Embracing Skeletons of Alepotrypa are a pair of human skeletons dated as approximately 5,800 years old. They were discovered by archaeologists in the Alepotrypa cave in Laconia, Greece. The pair were dated to 3,800 B.C. and DNA analysis confirmed that the remains belong to a man and woman who died when they were 20 to 25 years of age.[1][2][3]
The prehistoric skeletons died in a lover’s embrace with the man laying behind the woman, draping his arms over her, and with their legs intertwined.[4][5][6]
"They're totally spooning, The boy is the big spoon, and the girl is the little spoon: Their arms are draped over each other, their legs are intertwined. It's unmistakable." - Bill Parkinson, associate curator of Eurasian anthropology at Chicago's Field Museum[1]
Greek archaeologist Anastasia Papathanasiou said about the couple's pose; "It's a very natural hug; it doesn't look like they were arranged in this posture at a much later date."[1] The cause of death of the two individuals is currently unknown.
References
- "Embracing Stone Age Couple Found in Greek Cave". National Geographic News. 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- "5,800-Year-Old Skeletons Found Locked in Embrace Near Greek Cave". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- Lugli, Federico; Di Rocco, Giulia; Vazzana, Antonino; Genovese, Filippo; Pinetti, Diego; Cilli, Elisabetta; Carile, Maria Cristina; Silvestrini, Sara; Gabanini, Gaia; Arrighi, Simona; Buti, Laura (2019-09-11). "Enamel peptides reveal the sex of the Late Antique 'Lovers of Modena'". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 13130. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-49562-7. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6739468. PMID 31511583.
- Lorenzi, Rossella (2015-02-13). "Skeletons in 6,000-Year-Old Embrace Found in Cave". Seeker. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- "Skeletons embracing found in a Greek cave". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- "The Remains Of A Stone Age Couple Found In A Spooning Embrace". io9. Retrieved 2019-11-10.