An occasional ornament, part of clothes or just a gift for ancestors? The results of traceological studies of teeth pendants from the Subneolithic sites in Šventoji, Lithuania

Osipowicz, Grzegorz; Piličiauskienė, Giedrė; Orłowska, Justyna; Piličiauskas, Gytis

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102130

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…), which has been documented in previous experiments [36] and for other ancient ornaments (e.g. [37][38][39][40]). Still, the use-wear traces are visible.…”

Section: (B) Human and Rodent Modification Of Giant Sloth Osteodermssupporting

confidence: 65%

Evidence of artefacts made of giant sloth bones in central Brazil around the last glacial maximum

et al. 2023

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The peopling of the Americas and human interaction with the Pleistocene megafauna in South America remain hotly debated. The Santa Elina rock shelter in Central Brazil shows evidence of successive human settlements from around the last glacial maximum (LGM) to the Early Holocene. Two Pleistocene archaeological layers include rich lithic industry associated with remains of the extinct giant ground sloth Glossotherium phoenesis . The remains include thousands of osteoderms (i.e. dermal bones), three of which were human-modified. In this study, we perform a traceological analysis of these artefacts by optical microscopy, non-destructive scanning electron microscopy, UV/visible photoluminescence and synchrotron-based microtomography. We also describe the spatial association between the giant sloth bone remains and stone tools and provide a Bayesian age model that confirms the timing of this association in two time horizons of the Pleistocene in Santa Elina. The conclusion from our traceological study is that the three giant sloth osteoderms were intentionally modified into artefacts before fossilization of the bones. This provides additional evidence for the contemporaneity of humans and megafauna, and for the human manufacturing of personal artefacts on bone remains of ground sloths, around the LGM in Central Brazil.

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“…), which has been documented in previous experiments [36] and for other ancient ornaments (e.g. [37][38][39][40]). Still, the use-wear traces are visible.…”

Section: (B) Human and Rodent Modification Of Giant Sloth Osteodermssupporting

confidence: 65%

Evidence of artefacts made of giant sloth bones in central Brazil around the last glacial maximum

et al. 2023

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“…This pattern has not previously been reported in the traceological literature, which until now has mainly focused on the perforated roots and root tips of the animal teeth, where human-related traces are more easily distinguishable from natural traces (e.g. Larsson 2006;Osipowicz et al 2020;Vanhaeren & d'Errico 2005; see also Van Gijn 2006& 2017 on pendants of other materials). Pits, or craters coming close to pitting, have been reported earlier on the roots of mammalian canines in the Neolithic site of Ajvide in Sweden (Rainio & Mannermaa 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Use-wear analysis of the perforated teeth from Zvejnieki, Latvia, indicates that some of these decorations were worn for a long time before their deposition in the graves, while others were fresh and intact (Larsson 2006). In Šventoji, Lithuania, the perforated teeth were apparently worn on a daily basis (Osipowicz et al 2020). Our analysis of the wild boar and seal teeth from Ajvide, Sweden, brings out a pattern of pits and scratches on the tooth roots, suggesting that the pendants served as portable sound instruments or rattles, in addition to their decorative and possible symbolic functions (Rainio & Mannermaa 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Prehistoric Pendants as Instigators of Sound and Body Movements: A Traceological Case Study from Northeast Europe, c. 8200 cal. bp

Rainio¹,

Gerasimov²,

Girya³

et al. 2021

CAJ

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In the Late Mesolithic graves of Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov, northwest Russia, large numbers of Eurasian elk (Alces alces) incisors have been found. These teeth, for the most part fashioned into portable pendants, seem to have formed decorative sets for the garments or accessories of the deceased. This article examines both the technologies associated with these artefacts and their uses, as well as reflecting on the sensorial experiences generated by them. Osteological analysis of a sample of 100 specimens indicates that all types of incisors were used for making the pendants. Traceological analysis indicates that the teeth were modified by scraping, grooving, grinding and retouching. Traces of wear consist of general wear and distinctive pits or pecks on the perimeters of the crowns. These traces indicate that the pendants were worn before their deposition in the graves, in such a way that they were in contact with both soft and solid materials. This pattern of pits or pecks has until now been unreported in the traceological literature. In experiments, a similar pattern emerged when pendants of fresh elk incisors were hung in rows and bunches and struck against one another. These strokes created a rattling sound. Thus, the elk incisors of Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov appear to provide insight into previously unattainable sonic experiences and activities of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, as well as the early history of the instrument category of rattles.

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“…Our microwear analysis of the YOO pendants (Rainio et al forthcoming) indicates that they were used on a daily basis or in ceremonies before being deposited in burials. The use of tooth pendants on a daily basis has been recently suggested also by Osipowicz et al (2019) in their study of drilled tooth pendants found in the Šventoji settlement area in Lithuania. Artefact compositions, such as tooth ornaments, could have been part of costumes and headgear used in rituals and ceremonies, and their rattling sound could have played an important role in these activities (Rainio and Mannermaa 2014;Rainio and Tamboer 2018).…”

Section: Tooth Pendants and Social Structuresmentioning

confidence: 92%

Let’s groove: attachment techniques of Eurasian elk (Alces alces) tooth pendants at the Late Mesolithic cemetery Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov (Lake Onega, Russia)

Mannermaa

Rainio

Girya

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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More than 4300 Eurasian elk (Alces alces) incisors, most of them pendants, were found in 84 burials in the Late Mesolithic cemetery of Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov, Northwest Russia. We analysed the manufacture techniques of elk teeth (4014), in the collection of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, St Petersburg. A striking observation is that the manufacture of these pendants is similar in all burials. Teeth were worked by carving one or several grooves around the root tip. In addition to grooved ones, a number of teeth were not worked at all. The uniformity of the chosen species, tooth and techniques indicates that strict norms prevailed in the pendant industry. Despite the overall similarity, our study shows some variation in making pendants. A groove can cut the whole circumference of the root, or several distinct grooves can mark opposite sides of the root. Sometimes the grooves are deep and made carefully, and sometimes they are weak and made hastily. A typology of various groove types was created. In many graves, one groove type dominates. We interpret that this inter-burial variation and domination of one type resulted from personal choice and taste based on practicality. Such variation could also be associated with kin identifiers, but we did not find clear support for that in our study. Our study indicates that the groove types as such had no connection with particular ornaments, garments or hanging positions.

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An occasional ornament, part of clothes or just a gift for ancestors? The results of traceological studies of teeth pendants from the Subneolithic sites in Šventoji, Lithuania

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Evidence of artefacts made of giant sloth bones in central Brazil around the last glacial maximum

Evidence of artefacts made of giant sloth bones in central Brazil around the last glacial maximum

Prehistoric Pendants as Instigators of Sound and Body Movements: A Traceological Case Study from Northeast Europe, c. 8200 cal. bp

Let’s groove: attachment techniques of Eurasian elk (Alces alces) tooth pendants at the Late Mesolithic cemetery Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov (Lake Onega, Russia)

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