Those sick, savage Europeans

Europe may have had human sacrificesInvestigations of prehistoric burial sites in Europe show that the region's population may have practiced ritual human sacrifice, according to a new study.

The large number of multiple-burial sites, some containing skeletons of dwarfs and deformed children accompanied by ornate grave goods, suggests that human sacrifice was a custom in Europe between 28,000 and 10,000 years ago, says biologist Vincenzo Formicola of the University of Pisa in Italy.