Cemetery 117 is an ancient cemetery discovered in 1964 by a team lead by Fred Wendorf near the northern border of Sudan. It is often cited as the oldest known evidence of warfare, although this point is disputed.
The site was discovered during the construction of the Aswan Dam and dated to the Epipaleolithic Qadan peoples. Fifty-nine skeletons were found at the site, nearly half of which show signs of violent deaths, such as flake point and arrowhead-inflicted injuries. Some of the skeletons have a number of wounds or were found with arrowheads inside their skulls.
Some question this site as an evidence of warfare, arguing that the bodies may have accumulated over many decades and may be the evidence of the murder of trespassers, but not war. That about half the bodies are female also causes some to question their origin.
Cemetery 117 is located on the Nile, currently Egypt, near the frontier of Sudan. It is at least seven thousand years old.
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