Bad Dürrenberg burial
The Bad Dürrenberg burial is a 9000 year old Mesolithic double burial of a woman and baby discovered in 1934 near Bad Dürrenberg, Germany. The grave was discovered on 4 May 1934 on the grounds of a spa garden near the town of Bad Dürrenberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was encountered by workmen cutting a trench for a fountain water pipe. It was excavated in one day directed by W. Henning, a conservator at the Halle State Museum of Prehistory. No photographs were taken of the burial due to time pressure. The only records are written descriptions and a sketch plan which do not record the exact positioning of the bodies and objects.
The double burial contained the skeletal remains of an adult woman aged 30–40 years and a 6-8 month old infant. Radiocarbon dating of human and animal bone yielded a date of 7000-6800 BC, placing the interment in the Mesolithic period. The woman was buried in a sitting position with flexed arms and legs. The baby was positioned between her legs. The grave was filled with powdered red ochre. It contained an "exceptional number" of grave goods, including 50 pierced animal teeth, and microlith blades stored in a crane bone. The woman has been interpreted as a shaman, based on the presence of a portion of roe deer skull with antlers that was presumably attached to headwear.
The woman had an incompletely formed atlas vertebra and associated malformations of the foramen magnum and vertebral arteries. This may have caused neuropathological conditions, such as abnormal sensations, ataxia, or induced rapid eye movement (nystagmus) or double vision.
Genetic analysis revealed she likely had a relatively dark complexion with straight, dark hair and blue eyes. 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.
Discovery[edit]
The grave is situated on a terrace above the east bank of the River Salle in what is now the garden of a salt water spa, near the modern town of Bad Dürrenberg, 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Halle in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.[1][2] The burial does not appear to be associated with a prehistoric camp; it is possible there was one closer to the river which has since eroded away.[2]
On 4 May 1934, workmen discovered the burial while digging a trench for a fountain water pipe. A local teacher was alerted to the find, who in turn contacted Wilhelm Henning, a conservator at the Halle State Museum of Prehistory.[1][3] Artefacts were removed from the grave before Henning's arrival so it is generally unclear exactly how the bodies and grave goods were arranged.[4] The grave was excavated in a single day as the gardens were scheduled to reopen the following day; no photographs were taken due to time pressure. The only records of the excavation are a two page report and a sketch of the plan and profile elevations.[4][2] The burial is displayed in the Halle State Museum of Prehistory.[3]
Description[edit]
From the original excavation, it was known the grave was oriented east-northeast west-southwest and was roughly rectangular, measuring 90 by 55 centimetres (2.95 ft × 1.80 ft) with a maximum depth of 1.46 m (4.8 ft).[4][2] In the 2010s, the area where the burial was found was scheduled for redevelopment for the State Garden Show so the grave was located and entirely removed in two blocks for controlled excavation in a laboratory.[4]
The upper part of the grave was trough-shaped. The lower part was a rectangular shaft measuring 90 by 55 centimetres (2.95 ft × 1.80 ft), whose vertical walls were lined with lattice or wattle. The grave contained the seated body of an adult woman, positioned with her legs drawn up and her arms resting on her thighs; an infant was placed in her lap, across her arms. The soil around the bodies was filled with red ochre. After the burial, the shaft was closed with wood and sealed with loam before the upper part was filled.[4]
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. Over 140 animal teeth and bones were recovered. 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. There were 50 incisor teeth, many of which were pierced for wear, from aurochs, steppe bison, wild boar, red and roe deer. A further six were split boar tusks, two of which were pierced.[4][1]
Occupants[edit]
Initially, it was thought the grave belonged to a Neolithic man, based on the presence of a polished stone axe and blades;[3][2] this was later worked into Nazi propaganda, with the burial cast as an Aryan. Reexamination of the skeleton in the 1950s and 1990s determined the individual was female; radiocarbon dating in the 1970s confirmed the woman lived 9000 years ago during the Mesolithic.[3]
The woman died between the ages of 30 and 40 years. Her height in life is estimated to be 155 centimetres (5.09 ft). Her face has broad cheekbones and "masculine" features, with a slender build. Genetic analysis revealed she likely had a dark complexion with straight dark hair and blue eyes. 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 indicates she spent a lot of time kneeling. Her health seems to have been good, with no signs of Harris lines.[4][2] Her upper incisors were worn, exposing the pulp cavity. This may be caused by holding objects, such as hides, between the teeth. However, this wear lacks the curve associated with the processing of leather. The open pulp cavities led to infection in one of the teeth and abscess formation that spread to the maxillary sinus. This is her suggested cause of death.[1]
The woman had an incompletely formed atlas vertebra, which is missing a large portion of the posterior arch, and had associated malformations of the foramen magnum. The atypical appearance of the foramen magnum was previously suggested to be caused by decapitation but there is no evidence of cut marks. She may have been able to block blood vessels to the brain by holding her head in certain positions, causing neuropathological conditions such as abnormal sensations or ataxia, or induced rapid eye movement (nystagmus) or double vision. It is possible that, if she did exhibit these conditions, she may have been seen as having the ability to access the spirit world. Her possible physical abilities, combined with her elaborate burial and the presence of a roe deer headdress with antlers, has led to the suggestion she was a shaman; for this reason she is often referred to as the "Bad Dürrenberg Shaman".[1][4]
The baby was between 6–8 months old at death. Genetic analysis identified the infant as male. Testing found he was a fourth or fifth degree genetic relative of the Shaman 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.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Porr, M.; Alt, K. W. (2006). "The burial of Bad Dürrenberg, Central Germany: osteopathology and osteoarchaeology of a Late Mesolithic shaman's grave". International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 16 (5): 395–406. doi:10.1002/oa.839. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Grünberg, Judith M. (2016). "The Mesolithic burials of the Middle Elbe-Saale region". In Grünberg, Judith M.; Gramsch, Bernhard; Larsson, Lars; Orschiedt, Jörg; Meller, Harald (eds.). Mesolithic burials: rites, symbols and social organisation of early postglacial communities. Halle (Saale): Landesamt für Dekmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt - Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte. pp. 257–290. ISBN 978-3-944507-43-9. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d Curry, Andrew (2023). "The Shaman's Secrets". Archaeology. Vol. 76, no. 2. pp. 38–43. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Orschiedt, Jörg; Haak, Wolfgang; Dietl, Holger; Siegl, Andreas; Meller, Harald (24 November 2023). "The Shaman and the Infant: The Mesolithic Double Burial from Bad Dürrenberg, Germany". In Meller, Harald; Krause, Johannes; Haak, Wolfgang; Risch, Roberto (eds.). Kinship, Sex, and Biological Relatedness : The contribution of archaeogenetics to the understanding of social and biological relations. Propylaeum. pp. 125–136. ISBN 978-3-96929-259-4.
Further reading[edit]
- Meller, Harald; Michel, Kai (2022). Das Rätsel der Schamanin: eine archäologische Reise zu unseren Anfängen (in German) (Originalausgabe ed.). Hamburg: Rowohlt. ISBN 9783498003012.
- Mykhailova, Nataliia (2019). "'Shaman' burials in prehistoric Europe. Gendered images?". In Koch, Julia Katharina; Kirleis, Weibke (eds.). Gender Transformations in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies (PDF). Leiden: Sidestone Press. pp. 341–362. ISBN 978-90-8890-823-1. Retrieved 7 December 2023.