The Post-Partisan Emporium

  Strangled In The Dark For A Good Harvest? Using modern forensics to solve a Neolithic ritual murder STONE AGE HERBALIST At the Middle Neolithic site of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux in the central Rhône Valley, one of the most disturbing burials of European prehistory has come to light. The reconstruction of the scene is almost a work of art, relying on the most meticulous and patient observations, and the payoff is immense. The  resulting paper  covers the evolution of a ritual murder charmlessly dubbed ‘ homicidal ligature strangulation’.  20 cases of this particular death have now been identified, starting in Sicily at the end of the Italian Mesolithic, and concluding around 3,500 BC in the Rhône valley. Using modern forensic techniques, archaeologists are dispelling the idea that the Neolithic was in any way a peaceful time to live, and are unearthing some of the most unsettling rites of Europe’s stone age farmers. Solstices, silos and strangulation Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux is one o

  The Fat-Farms of Mauritania Force-feeding girls for marriage STONE AGE HERBALIST January is the month of the diet. New Year’s resolutions abound to cut down on snacks, to go to the gym, to lose weight. Extra fat is now not just for Christmas though, it is a global problem - but what would the opposite of a weight-loss camp look like? A place to deliberately become obese? Do such places exist? On one end of the spectrum we could look at the Japanese sumo wrestling tradition, where practitioners become fat in order to leverage their bulk against their opponent. A method of metabolic hacking is used, where wrestlers skip breakfast and eat a massive 10,000 calorie lunch of  chankonabe  stew, followed by a nap. The combination of calorie loading, large amounts of beer and short feeding windows causes rapid weight gain. Another variant found across the world is the ‘fattening room’ ritual. This typically involves young women, and sometimes men, being secluded from the community and fed lar