Kamila Remisova Vesinova and her team of researchers from the Czech Archeological Society believe they have unearthed the remains of an early homosexual man. The remains date from around 2900-2500 B.C., on the outskirts of Prague.
That claim stems from the fact the 5,000-year-old skeleton was buried in a manner reserved for women in the Corded Ware culture: its head was pointed east rather than west, and its remains were surrounded by domestic jugs rather than by hammers, flint knives and weapons that typically accompany male remains. (Should you eat like a caveman?)
"From history and ethnology, we know that people from this period took funeral rites very seriously so it is highly unlikely that this positioning was a mistake," Vesinova said at a press conference. "Far more likely is that he was a man with a different sexual orientation, homosexual or transsexual."
Katerina Semradova, another member of the team, admitted there have been other instances of men being buried with implements reserved for women and vice versa. Her colleagues previously unearthed a female warrior from the Mesolithic period who was buried in the fashion of a man. And she noted that latter-day male Siberian shamans or witch doctors were buried with ornate funeral accessories, like jewels, to reflect their elevated position in society.
But those burials reflected the dead's position in society, not their sexuality. "This later discovery was neither [a warrior nor a witch doctor], leading us to believe the man was probably homosexual or transsexual."
