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The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the execution of 20 individuals, 14 of whom were women, and the tainting of countless others. The events that transpired during this dark period in American history have become a subject of fascination, intrigue, and scholarly study. The hysteria began when a group of young girls in Salem Village began exhibiting strange behaviors, including fits, screaming, and contortions. These girls claimed to be possessed by witches and accused several women in the community of bewitching them. The accusations quickly spread, and soon, more individuals were accused of practicing witchcraft.

Our European ancestors painted a great range of animals in their cave-cathedrals, but there's no doubt that they were particularly partial to reindeer. In some Aurignacian sites, 99% of the animal remains are from Rangifer tarandus, and this predilection for reindeer seems to distinguish our own ancestors from those other ancient denizens of Europe, the Neanderthals. As for what reindeer like to eat, you might think it was reindeer moss. But that's a misnomer – reindeer moss is in fact lichen. And while reindeer eat plenty of it in the winter months, digging through the snow with their broad feet to get at it, I expect that they are happy when the summer arrives and there are far more juicy and delicious plants to eat.

There was a decline in the genetic diversity of reindeer after the peak of the last ice age 20,000 years ago probably due to a warming climate as well as those palaeolithic hunters but reindeer survived, and thankfully they don t look likely to become extinct any time soon. Alas for him and his tribe, their days were numbered the ice was creeping south and, two or three thousand years later, people had vanished again from a frozen British landscape and would remain away for the next 15,000 years.

The accusations quickly spread, and soon, more individuals were accused of practicing witchcraft. The trials were characterized by a series of hearings, in which accused individuals were interrogated in courtrooms by magistrates. The testimonies given during these proceedings were often based on personal vendettas, superstitions, or the testimony of unreliable witnesses.

Digging up the stories of our past: Professor uncovers prehistoric burials in a fascinating study of Ancient Britain

HISTORY ANCESTORS by Alice Roberts (Simon & Schuster £20, 448pp) Some 33,000 years ago, a man was ritually buried in a cave on the Gower peninsula in South-West Wales. His body was stained with red ochre and he was surrounded by pieces of mammoth tusk with holes drilled through to be worn on a necklace, and ivory bracelets. The cave looked out across immense grasslands — now the Bristol Channel — stretching all the way to the opposite escarpment some 20 miles away: the cliffs of North Devon. And over the grasslands roamed vast herds of red deer and reindeer, bison, woolly rhinoceros and mammoth, as well as predators such as wolves, hyenas — and people.

Professor Alice Roberts has penned a fascinating study of ancient Britain, via seven prehistoric burials (file image)

Such is the spellbinding image conjured by Professor Alice Roberts in this fascinating study of ancient Britain, via seven prehistoric burials. The man in the cave is the first ritual burial known in our island story. He and his clan lived on these rich hunting grounds for generations, keeping warm with fur clothing and dung fires. Alas for him and his tribe, their days were numbered: the ice was creeping south and, two or three thousand years later, people had vanished again from a frozen British landscape — and would remain away for the next 15,000 years. This brings us next to Cheddar Man, who dates from about 9,000 years ago and was found in 1903 in Gough’s Cave in the Mendips. Thanks to the powerful tool of DNA analysis, to go with the traditional digging in the mud with trowels, we now know for certain that Cheddar Man was a hunter-gatherer about 5ft 5in tall, and that 10 per cent of today’s Britons of European descent share an ancestry with him. An amazing thought.

The accused were subject to harsh questioning and were often coerced into confessing their supposed crimes. The courtrooms were scenes of mass hysteria, with crowds gathering to witness the accused being examined by magistrates. Spectators were known to shout, scream, and berate the accused, further fueling the atmosphere of fear and panic. Public opinion often shaped the outcomes of the trials, with those who proclaimed their innocence being met with suspicion and disbelief. The trials eventually came to an end when prominent members of the community, including the governor's wife, were accused of witchcraft. As doubts began to arise regarding the legitimacy of the accusations, public support for the trials waned, and the court began releasing those imprisoned for witchcraft. The Salem Witch Trials serve as a cautionary tale and a reminder of the dangers of mass hysteria, superstition, and the abuse of power. It is a dark chapter in American history that continues to captivate and haunt the collective consciousness. Through the study of these events, society hopes to learn from the mistakes of the past and strive towards a more just and rational future..

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