普渡大学生物考古学家罗斯琳·坎贝尔重新检查了来自埃及第一王朝三位统治者墓地的46具遗骨，发现其中18具头骨显示潜在致命创伤迹象，包括骨折和砍伤1。这些遗骨来自国王德杰、德杰特和王后美尔内特的陵墓，采集自剑桥大学达克沃斯收藏的1920年代发掘标本1。超过三分之一的头骨证据显示钝器创伤2，这是首项直接检查陵墓中人类遗骨的研究1。
这一发现支持了古埃及早期国王的侍从和工匠可能在统治者去世时被殉葬的假设12。研究表明，这些创伤很可能由木质或鹿角制成的扁平、宽阔物体造成1。坎贝尔指出，关于殉葬的争议由来已久，"人们倾向于分为两个阵营……要么肯定发生过侍从殉葬，讨论到此结束，要么肯定没有发生过，讨论到此结束"2。该研究成果已发表在期刊《环境考古学前沿》上2。此外，研究显示殉葬陪葬人数在第二王朝开始时迅速减少并最终消失1。
A re-examination of skeletal remains from early Egyptian royal tombs has uncovered evidence supporting long-debated theories about human sacrifice in antiquity. Purdue University bioarchaeologist Roslyn Campbell led an analysis of 46 skeletal remains recovered from the burial sites of three First Dynasty rulers—Kings Djet and Djet-ti, and Queen Merneith—and discovered that 18 of these specimens bore signs of potentially fatal trauma, including fractures and cut marks.1 The findings, published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, represent the first direct forensic examination of human remains from these tombs to address the controversial question of whether ancient Egyptian pharaohs' retainers and craftsmen were ritually sacrificed upon their rulers' deaths.12
The trauma patterns suggest that the fatal injuries were most likely inflicted by flat, broad implements made of wood or bone rather than ceremonial weapons.1 Campbell emphasized the significance of this direct skeletal evidence, stating that "this is the first study to directly examine human bone from tombs" to investigate the practice.1 The remains analyzed came from specimens originally excavated in the 1920s and held in the Duckworth Collection at Cambridge University.1 According to Campbell, scholarly debate on this topic has historically been polarized: "People tend to fall into one of two camps...Either retainer sacrifice definitely happened, end of discussion, or it definitely didn't happen, end of discussion."2 The practice of sacrificing burial companions appeared to decline sharply and eventually ceased during the Second Dynasty.1
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