Gay Cave Man?

Has anyone seen this?

Gay Caveman' Found By Archaeologists Near Prague

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/07/gay-caveman-found-prague_n...

A team of Czech archaeologists claim to have unearthed the remains of an early gay man from around 2900-2500 B.C. outside Prague.

According to the Telegraph, the "gay caveman" was found buried in a way normally reserved only for women during the Copper Age. The man had been interred on his left side with his head facing east, with no weapons and household jugs -- almost always reserved for women in the region during that time -- placed at his feet. Traditionally, men were buried with weapons, hammers and flint knives, and their bodies were positioned on their right side with their heads facing west.

"From history and ethnology, we know that people from this period took funeral rites very seriously so it is highly unlikely that this positioning was a mistake," lead researcher Kamila Remisova Vesinova said. "Far more likely is that he was a man with a different sexual orientation, homosexual or transvestite. What we see here does not add up to traditional Corded Ware cultural norms."

Obviously, I'm not knowledgeable enough about archeology or anthropology to say say if they are right or wrong. I just want to know how it is that they are able to jump to the conclusion that the cave man was gay based on the way he was arranged in his grave. I'm not saying it's not possible this is the case but I'm certain there could be other reasons why he was was buried that way.

They go on to say that a female warrior was buried "like a man" but they don't seem to make the leap that she was a lesbian. What if this guy was the stay at home dad while his wife hunted? Thoughts?

Tags: archeology, caveman, gay

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Permalink Reply by Galen on April 9, 2011 at 3:04pm

Seems more likely to me that he was buried like that as an insult. Seems like the kind of thing an enemy would do to you during the copper age to insult you in front of your family after you died.

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Permalink Reply by Daria Black on April 9, 2011 at 5:30pm

That's what I first thought when I read the story. I figured it was more likely that the person was an enemy or maybe did something bad in the village before he died. But then the story went on about the precision of burials in the culture. So I got a little confused.

However, I have to thank Nelson for the link to the John Hawks article because that brings up other more common sense possibilities.

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Permalink Reply by Daria Black on April 9, 2011 at 5:31pm

Thanks for the link Nelson. It's crazy how the media is so bad at reporting science. I'm glad there are people out there who are willing to take the time and correct bad reporting. :)

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Permalink Reply by Ava Wilson on June 25, 2011 at 10:24pm

Well, it's likely if he was buried like that as an insult, it would be because he was gay or suspected of being gay. It would make sense to me because homosexuality would have been just as common back then as it is today. The numbers really haven't changed any throughout history, only society's acceptance or not of it.

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