The treatment and punishment of women throughout ancient history have varied greatly across different societies and empires. One particularly grim form of punishment, rumored to date back around 100,000 years, involved chaining women by the neck and burying them alive. Such severe practices reflect a time when certain civilizations had extremely brutal methods of control, especially targeting women who were seen as stepping outside prescribed social norms.

Though detailed records from such a distant past are limited, evidence of similar punishments has been discovered in later ancient societies, suggesting that such forms of corporal punishment might have roots far older than previously understood. These practices often occurred in patriarchal societies where a woman’s perceived transgressions—such as infidelity, rebellion, or defiance of authority—were met with unimaginable brutality. The purpose of such severe punishment was to send a stark warning to others, aiming to enforce strict obedience and conformity.

Archaeological findings in several regions, from early Eurasian to African societies, have uncovered human remains in confined spaces, suggesting that burial alive was used as a method of punishment or ritual sacrifice. These findings, when combined with local folklore and ancient texts, paint a picture of societies in which control over women was severe, their lives often marked by oppressive systems.

The concept of chaining around the neck also has symbolic meaning. By restricting a person’s movement and freedom, it signifies the total control and domination of one person by another, often by the ruling elites over the subjugated. For women, this punishment was particularly dehumanizing, symbolizing the extent of male-dominated power structures in those societies.

Ancient empires used various tools and methods to ensure compliance, and the threat of such a terrifying death was one of them. While the veracity of such practices dating back as far as 100,000 years remains to be fully proven, evidence of severe punishments for women exists throughout history, a reminder of the often brutal conditions of early human societies.