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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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5,000 years ago there was NO CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, because Jesus was not born yet.
Maybe you are talking about the Hebraic doctrine who was not active in Czek Republic by then.
What's wrong with this kind of people who think that everything revolves around their culture?
PD Sorry if I said it wrong, not a native english speaker
I think Leslie was being sarcastic. But your english is very good :)
"And since this was 5,000 years ago that fits in nicely with christian doctrines of persecuting gays since the "beginning of time.""
The Evangelicals (read radicalized) buy into that crap - it's not "Christian Doctrine" by any stretch.
So, where did you get your archaeology degree from? Would you care to tell me why your speculations are more valid than real scientists findings? Sorry if I have a bias towards people who've actually studied a thing and are reporting the unusual things they find. Remember, it's not true just because you feel it is.
"Remember, It's not true just because you feel it is."
We've been making that argument to the religious for thousands of years. Like its going to some how work on someone now :P
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