Analysis result: Homo sapiens. Apparently Stone Age hunters and gatherers in what is now north-western Russia adorned themselves not only with elk teeth but also with pendants made from human bones. This is shown by an examination of grave finds that are around 8,200 years old. However, the background to the use of the human remains remains mysterious – there are different interpretations, the scientists say.
Since time immemorial, people all over the world have used various objects as ornamental or symbolic elements. They also played an important role in the cultures of the Stone Age hunter-gatherers in Eurasia. A site that impressively proves this is a burial ground on the small island of Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov in Lake Onega in the Russian Republic of Karelia. There, about 8,200 years ago, a hunter-gatherer people buried their dead with clothing or rattles, some of which were lavishly decorated with pendants. As previous investigations of the numerous finds have shown, these were mainly the incisors of mooses. But some pendants were also made of bone material.
Every third piece made of human bones
Until now it was assumed that these elements were also of animal origin. But Kristiina Mannermaa from the University of Helsinki and her colleagues wanted to know more precisely which species they came from. So the scientists sent the bone pendants to colleagues at the University of York to have them subjected to a mass spectrometric analysis. Using certain components in the bone samples, this method can be used to determine which animal species they come from.
Material analysis revealed that many pendants were made from the bones of elk and a species of cattle. However, the scientists identified a surprising origin for 12 of the 37 samples: They are of human origin. As further investigation revealed, these bone pendants were pieces of broken human long bones. To make a holder for ribbons, they were provided with grooves.
There is evidence that the raw material was in a fairly fresh state before it was made, the researchers write. The pendants were found in the same context as the tooth and animal bone pendants. Together they most likely formed an ornament on the hem of a robe or a kind of rattle, the scientists explain. Traces of use indicate that the objects were used before they were placed in the graves.
What was the significance of the “special” pendants?
The findings naturally raise questions: From whose bones were the pendants made and what meaning did people associate with them? Various possibilities come into question – the background cannot be clarified exactly, say the researchers. As they report, the use of human bones as raw material for objects from Asia and South America is known. There is also information about motives. The pieces of bone can come from family members and are used to commemorate the deceased.
On the other hand, they can also be “trophies” from enemies that are put on display. A connection with cannibalism also seems possible. Traces of a meat removal on the bones are often used as an indication. “However, the surface of the bone pendants we examined is so worn that you cannot see any possible cut marks, which means that we have no reason to suspect cannibalism based on the finds in Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov,” says Mannermaa.
However, the researchers see a possible indication of meaning in another aspect: the pendants made of human material were made in the same way as those made of animal material and apparently had the same function. “The fact that the use of human bones was not emphasized in any way and that the objects are indistinguishable from those made of animal bones could indicate the intertwining of animals and humans in the Stone Age worldview,” says Mannermaa. “The use of animal and human bones together in the same ornament or garment may have symbolized the idea that humans can transform into animals and vice versa. We know that such a blurring of forms and boundaries has been and still is part of the worldview of some peoples.”
Source: University of Helsinki