A HUGE family was slaughtered, skinned, cooked and eaten in a cave nearly 6,000 years ago, a new study reveals.

Neolithic cannibals feasted on at least 11 people - including kids - in what's now northern Spain, the victims' remains show.

Bones discovered at the El Mirador cave showed clear evidence of cannibalism, including cut marks, human bite marks and fractures for marrow extraction.

The bones also showed signs of being boiled, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports .

The gruesome event is believed to have occurred over a few days during the final phase of the Neolithic - or New Stone Age - occupation of the cave.

Researchers believe the cannibalism was a result of violence between groups - not ritual or famine.

"This was neither a funerary

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