Embracing Skeletons of Alepotrypa

The Embracing Skeletons of Alepotrypa are a pair of human skeletons dated as approximately 5,800 years old. They were discovered by archaeologists in the Alepotrypa cave in Laconia, Greece, home to a human settlement in the Neolithic age between 6,000 B.C. and 3,200 B.C.^[1] DNA analysis confirmed that the remains belong to a man and woman who died when they were 20 to 25 years of age.^[2][3][4]

The prehistoric skeletons died in a lover’s embrace with the man lying behind the woman, draping his arms over her, and with their legs intertwined.^[5][6][7]

They're totally spooning, The boy is the big spoon, and the girl is the little spoon: Their arms are draped over each other, their legs are intertwined. It's unmistakable.

—Bill Parkinson, associate curator of Eurasian anthropology at Chicago's Field Museum^[2]

Greek archaeologist Anastasia Papathanasiou said about the couple's pose, "It's a very natural hug; it doesn't look like they were arranged in this posture at a much later date."^[2] The cause of death of the two individuals is currently unknown.

See also

• List of unsolved deaths
• Lovers of Cluj-Napoca
• Lovers of Modena
• Lovers of Teruel
• Lovers of Valdaro
• The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

References

1. Cline, Diane Harris (2016). "Chapter One: Dawn of the Greeks". The Greeks: An Illustrated History. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-4262-1670-1.
2. "Embracing Stone Age Couple Found in Greek Cave". National Geographic News. 2015-02-20. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
3. "5,800-Year-Old Skeletons Found Locked in Embrace Near Greek Cave". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
4. Lugli, Federico; Di Rocco, Giulia; Vazzana, Antonino; Genovese, Filippo; Pinetti, Diego; Cilli, Elisabetta; Carile, Maria Cristina; Silvestrini, Sara; Gabanini, Gaia; Arrighi, Simona; Buti, Laura (2019-09-11). "Enamel peptides reveal the sex of the Late Antique 'Lovers of Modena'". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 13130. Bibcode:2019NatSR...913130L. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-49562-7. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6739468. PMID 31511583.
5. Lorenzi, Rossella (2015-02-13). "Skeletons in 6,000-Year-Old Embrace Found in Cave". Seeker. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
6. "Skeletons embracing found in a Greek cave". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
7. "The Remains Of A Stone Age Couple Found In A Spooning Embrace". io9. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 2019-11-10.