The interpretation of the Herxheim evidence has been contested, with some researchers arguing for a cannibalistic interpretation and others for a more specific mortuary ritual, but the physical evidence of deliberate skull modification is clear.

In Britain, the Neolithic long barrows of Avebury and Stonehenge’s broader landscape have produced human remains that show evidence of curation and handling — bones that were circulated among the living before being eventually deposited in formal burial contexts.

The famous “Cheddar Man” and other Mesolithic-period British individuals have been analyzed for evidence of post-mortem modification, with some sites showing clear evidence of defleshing.

For the Iron Age specifically, sites such as Danebury hillfort in Hampshire, Whitchurch in Warwickshire, and several Scottish sites have produced human remains in contexts that suggest the treatment of the dead was more varied and complex than formal burial alone.