Forensic study suggests ritual sacrifice of servants in early dynastic Egypt

A Purdue University re-analysis of 46 skulls from Abydos, dating to ~5,000 years ago, found potentially lethal injuries in 18, suggesting servants were sacrificed to accompany early Egyptian kings. The claim is based on forensic interpretation and challenges prior assumptions about retainer burial, though alternative explanations (e.g., post-mortem damage) remain possible.