Scientists have found 97 bodies inside a tiny house in an ancient Chinese village. Researchers believe that some sort of disaster killed them all around 5,000 years ago.
The bodies were found piled together inside the house, which later burned. The house was found at Hamin Mangha, an ancient village in northern China. The village is so ancient, it's older than writing itself in the region. The people who lived here primarily farmed for their food.
The people in the mass grave were between 19 and 35 years in age. The house they were inside is roughly 14 by 15 feet in total size. It is believed that a catastrophic event killed so many people at once, the survivors were not equipped to bury them all properly, according to IBTimes. The bodies were piled up two and three layers deep.
Scientists have also found ancient pottery, tools and arrows in the village, according to Livescience.
The findings at Hamin Mangha are consistent with other prehistoric sites in China that suffered large-scale disasters, according to JiLin University. This could mean that Hamin Mangha experienced an outbreak of disease.
Finding such a large mass grave is a rare archaeological discovery, according to De Gruyter. Hamin Mangha is the largest and best-preserved ancient site discovered in Northeast China.
