Technological Analysis of the World's Earliest Shamanic Costume: A Multi-Scalar, Experimental Study of a Red Deer Headdress from the Early Holocene Site of Star Carr, North Yorkshire, UK.
PLoS One
; 11(4): e0152136, 2016.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27073850
ABSTRACT
Shamanic belief systems represent the first form of religious practice visible within the global archaeological record. Here we report on the earliest known evidence of shamanic costume modified red deer crania headdresses from the Early Holocene site of Star Carr (c. 11 kya). More than 90% of the examples from prehistoric Europe come from this one site, establishing it as a place of outstanding shamanistic/cosmological significance. Our work, involving a programme of experimental replication, analysis of macroscopic traces, organic residue analysis and 3D image acquisition, metrology and visualisation, represents the first attempt to understand the manufacturing processes used to create these artefacts. The results produced were unexpected--rather than being carefully crafted objects, elements of their production can only be described as expedient.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Archaeology
/
Shamanism
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
CIENCIA
/
MEDICINA
Year:
2016
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Reino Unido