PRIMORDIAL RESOURCES ~ archaeology

Bad Dürrenberg burial

​Reconstruction of the shaman in her full regalia by artist Karol Schauer, for the Halle State Museum of Prehistory.

When a grave was discovered in Germany in 1934, archaeologists proclaimed the skeleton to be an ur-Aryan man. But new investigations of the burial - who was, in fact, a woman - with dozens of flint and bone grave goods, are helping archaeologists understand the rituals she performed and endured in her role as a protector and supernatural intercessor 9,000 years ago.

The rectangular grave contained the skeletal remains of an woman aged 30–40 years, and a 6 to 8-month-old infant. The woman was buried in a sitting position with bent arms and legs, and the baby was probably positioned across her lap. The grave was filled with powdered red ochre and contained many grave goods, including a roe deer antler headdress; 50 pierced teeth from aurochs, deer and wild boar; and stone and bone tools. Radiocarbon dating of human and animal bone yielded a timeline of 7000–6800 BC, placing the interment in the Mesolithic period. It is displayed in the Halle State Museum of Prehistory in Halle, Germany.   The woman is thought to have been a healer and a shaman; she is often referred to as the Bad Dürrenberg Shaman. The baby boy she was buried with, was found to be a fourth or fifth degree genetic relative with a shared mitochondrial haplogroup; she may have been a direct relative, such as his great-great-grandmother, or she may have been an aunt or cousin several generations removed.

The burial is exceptional among contemporary burials from Germany for its many grave goods. The pair were interred with stone tools, including a polished axe blade made of amphibolite placed by the woman's right arm, and 31 microlith blades stored in a container made from a crane humerus. Two shaped pebbles, a hammerstone with signs of use, and red ochre were also placed in the grave. Over 140 animal teeth and bones were recovered, some of which were likely ornaments. The antlers of a two-year-old roe deer buck show signs of skinning and manipulation, indicating they may have been part of a headdress. Soil samples from the area near her head identified fragments of goose feathers, suggesting the headdress was also feathered. There were 50 incisor teeth from aurochs, steppe bison, wild boar, red and roe deer, many of which were pierced for wear; a further six were split boar tusks, two of which were pierced. Others may have been tools, such as a spatula with traces of red ochre, and awls made from deer leg bones. Other items  thought to be purely grave goods were jaws and scapulae of roe deer, three cleaned shells of European pond turtles, 120 fragments of freshwater mussel shells, and isolated elements of a beaver and hedgehog.

The adult skeleton was well preserved and recovered largely complete in 1934. The woman died between the age of 30 to 40 years, and her height  is estimated to have been 155 cm (5 ft 1 in). Her face has broad cheekbones and robust features, with a slender build. Genetic analysis revealed she had a dark complexion, with straight dark hair and blue eyes, a common combination among the European population at the time, and shared by other Mesolithic individuals such as the Loschbour Man and the Cheddar Man. Study of her mitochondrial DNA found she had the haplogroup U4, typical of the Mesolithic; her specific subclade was U4b1b1.

Her bones lack strong muscle attachments, indicating she was less active than expected for the time period. Signs of wear to the vertebrae in her lower back and torso combined with facets on her leg bones indicate she spent a lot of time kneeling. Her health seems to have been good, with no signs of arrested growth. Her two upper front teeth were worn, exposing the pulp cavity. This may have been caused by holding objects such as hides between the teeth, but this wear lacks the curve associated with the processing of leather. The lack of secondary dentin formation indicates the wear happened quickly. Harald Meller, Director of the Halle State Museum of Prehistory, suggests her teeth were deliberately filed as part of a ritual. The open pulp cavities led to infection in one of the teeth and the formation of an abscess that spread to the maxillary sinus. Martin Porr and Kurt Alt suggest that this was the cause of her death.

See "The Shaman's Secrets" ~ Archaeology Magazine  
>Wikipedia Reference<
>Permanent  Exhibition at the  State Museum of Prehistory<

​An impressive selection of grave goods in the burial include roe deer antlers (top) that could have been worn as a headdress; boars’ teeth (middle); and tusks (bottom) with drilled holes, enabling them to be suspended from animal skins.

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A leg bone of a crane (top) fashioned into a container for tiny flint blades (middle) as well as bone points (bottom),  were included in the unique array of grave goods buried with the shaman.

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​Turtle (top) and mussel shells (bottom) are evidence of a menagerie of species deposited in the shaman’s grave.

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