When asked to research the possibility of a gay caveman, I have to admit I chuckled but then began my intense google search for this "gay" caveman. Before I even began reading what I came to find on google, I wondered what in the archaeological record would be found thousands of years later that caused the person in the grave to be perceived as a man who loved men? This lead to me trying to fight stereotypes of what gay as perceived as today. I feel like the most logical option that would lead to this caveman being "gay" is that he was buried with the grave goods that a woman would normally be buried with.
Now after actually reading my findings here are the facts: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8433527/First-homosexual-caveman-found.html
- 5,000 years old (2900-2500 BC)
- Unearthed in the Czech Republic
As I imagined, the remains were found in the same form as a female grave with the same grave goods.
- Eastern pointing head
- Surrounded by domestic jugs
What makes me wonder though is that in the Corded Ware culture that the "gay" caveman was found in. The women's graves also contained things like jewelry, pets, copper earrings etc. This grave was missing a lot of that stuff.
But a man's grave would be filled with weapons: axes, knives and food and drink for the transition to the other side. So to me it seems like this "gay" caveman was of neither sex; was he potentially transsexual? The people who buried him seemed to think that he was neither a woman nor a man.
I feel that this was blown way out of proportion by the media to bring in reader interest, because who wouldn't want to learn more on the "prehistoric homosexual?" He wasn't really even a caveman! The people of the Corded Ware culture were more farmers.
Photos from:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1374060/Gay-caveman-5-000-year-old-male-skeleton-outed-way-buried.html
http://www.disclose.tv/forum/gay-caveman-found-t48768.html
Interesting thoughts Courtney! I agree with you that things get blown out of proportion. I think it would be really hard to ever really know if someone in prehistoric times was actually gay. It was interesting that you noted that the man didn't have jewellery, typical in women's graves and and he was lacking male funerary objects. I wonder if maybe he had done something that was morally taboo and as a consequence when they buried him they "dishonoured" him by placing his body in the female position because he had done something unmanly?
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