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Archaeologists unearth 5,000-year-old 'third-gender' caveman
Caveman was buried like a woman, leading scientists to question his sexual orientation.
Fri, Apr 08 2011 at 5:47 AM
Photo: ZUMA Press
Archaeologists investigating a 5,000-year-old Copper Age grave in the Czech Republic believe they may have unearthed the first known remains of a gay or transvestite caveman, reports the Telegraph.
The man was apparently buried as if he were a woman, an aberrant practice for an ancient culture known for its strict burial procedures.
Since the grave dates to between 2900 and 2500 BC, the man would have been a member of the Corded Ware culture, a late Stone Age and Copper Age people named after the unique kind of pottery they produced. Men in this culture were traditionally buried lying on their right side with their heads pointing west, but this man was instead buried on his left side with his head pointing east, which is how women were typically buried.
"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," said lead archaeologist Kamila Remisova Vesinova. "Far more likely is that he was a man with a different sexual orientation, homosexual or transsexual."
Another clue is that Corded Ware men would typically be buried alongside weapons, hammers and flint knives, as well as food and drink to prepare them for their journey to the other side. But this man's grave instead contained only a traditional egg-shaped pot, which was what women were typically buried with.
With all the evidence taken together, archaeologists are confident that the best explanation for the strange burial is that the man was effeminate, perhaps a homosexual, and possibly a transvestite.
"We believe this is one of the earliest cases of what could be described as a 'transsexual' or 'third gender grave' in the Czech Republic," reiterated cooperating archaeologist Katerina Semradova.
Semradova also noted that archaeologists from a previous dig had uncovered a grave from the Mesolithic period where a female warrior was buried as a man, so mixed gender burials, though rare, were not unprecedented.
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there is a long history of third genders in all cultures. most respected third genders as more enlightened than cisgendered people. it is only OUR culture that doesn't acknowledge third genders or respect them. research the native american berdache, or the india hijra.
More examples here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender#History
You misunderstood what I was proposing. I was suggesting the possibility of those who dug him having not had the opportunity to place the correct gender on this person.
Instead of trying to rationalize homosexuality, why can't we admit we are imperfect human beings and they simply messed up when they buried this poor fella? Besides, since when are homosexuals considered a "third gender". Gay people still belong to the gender to which they were born.
First off, it isn't that much of an assumption to believe that women were considered inferior. Talk to any gender studies major and they can give you a multitude of examples where women have been taken as inferior in history. Also, why bury them in this manner? To shame. The Greeks used to bury people without coins on their eyes to make sure that they never made it to the afterlife because they couldn't pay the boatman. Why not do it this way as well?
what about the fact that there is a chance that he was one of unlucky ones who are born looking like one gender but having the insides of the opposite gender. Like he could of been seen as a female who's testes never dropped and could of remained inside. We have these types today.... why not back then ?
There are a number of acceptable explanations for this. He could have been a slave or had a disability. The thing I'm tired of is scientific theories being presented as facts, we are taking too many unproven ideas for granted and putting too much faith in unproven theories. There are just too many people pushing theories instead of facts.
It could be a way of shaming him in the next life. For he may have been a bad person.
Please don't let the Westboro Baptists hear abut this - Next thing you know they will be fire-bombing archeologists homes.
They were actually farming by this time, living in man-made dwellings, and establishing the beginnings of trade routes. Caves, not so much.
This man did not have to be a homosexual, or a transvestite, he may have just had a different role in society that may have been usually reserved for women. He may have also had a limiting factor that reduced his ability to hunt or fight. We don't know right now, people are just putting a background to face without evidence.
you literally have no idea what you are talking about. third genders are a well documented phenomenon in many ancient cultures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender#History
I do believe that such persons were referred to as a "Berdache"
that the skeleton was male? I just wonder. Could be some structural difference.
it was male because the skeleton of a male is different than the skeleton of a female. For example, they can tell by how wide the shoulders are in comparison to the hips. Broad shoulders with narrower hips would be identified as a male; narrower shoulders with broad hips would be identified as a female.
it has to do with the pelvis and the shape/depth- female's tend to be smaller, shallower, and wider, and the tailbone more flexible, to allow for childbirth. Also men tend to be taller, heavier, and their skulls larger. But it's mostly the pelvis.
We can rule out transexual, unless this stone age culture really could do sex change operations that made penises. wtf
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