Turns out famed skeletons of ‘Lovers of Modena’ were both dudes
Quote:Scientists have revealed that a pair of hand-holding skeletons, whose gesture of love has been preserved in mud for 1,500 years, were both male.
A new DNA test helped researchers determine the sex of the remains, dubbed the “Lovers of Modena.” This particular sex determination technique, using protein from tooth enamel, wasn’t available when the fossils were unearthed at the site of an ancient necropolis in 2009.
At the time, archaeologists assumed the two were man and woman. The set of bones thought to be female, who was found wearing a bronze ring, seemed locked in a centuries-long gaze with its partner.
“[They] evoke an uplifting tenderness,” Labate said, adding, “I have been involved in many digs, but I’ve never felt so moved.”
Researchers also say the couple was likely buried this way intentionally, which was not an unusual funeral practice during that time. The 6,000-year-old “Lovers of Valdaro,” dug up from a Neolithic tomb near Mantua in northern Italy, were discovered in a full-on embrace, as well as couples found at the Alepotrypa Cave in Greece; Diyarbakir, Turkey; and Staryi Tartas in Siberia — all of them presumed to be heterosexual pairings.
https://nypost.com/2019/09/12/turns-out-...dudes/amp/
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"