During the excavations, the scientists’ attention was drawn to a neat row of pointed teeth. Although the string on which they were strung decayed over the millennia, their arrangement left no doubt – this is a handmade human ornament, writes the „Smithsonian magazine“.
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- The necklace consists of 42 drilled teeth.
- They belonged to large mammals: wolves, deer, young bears, and researchers do not rule out the possibility that there may also be human teeth among them.
- Tomasz Gralak, an archaeologist from the University of Wrocław, states that this is a unique find – a similar necklace previously found in Poland had only four teeth and was much later.
Researchers believe that this burial mound belonged to an important representative of the ceramic culture – likely the leader of a family clan or an influential patriarch. The items found with the man’s skeleton confirm his high social status:
- Two separate adult human skulls (scientists will investigate whether they were deliberately severed for ritual purposes).
- Amber beads, a flint knife, and an axe made of greenish serpentinite.
- The necklace itself could have been a collection of hunting trophies or a special gift to the leader.
Paweł Dąbrowski, an anthropologist from the Medical University of Wrocław, states that detailed genetic and isotopic studies will be conducted. They will help determine the exact age of the remains, sex, dietary habits, and the precise animal species whose teeth were used for the necklace.
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Almost at the same time, in the nearby village of Iwiny, another group of archaeologists discovered a similar high-status grave with the bones of a sacrificed calf. Both of these finds allow for a better understanding of burial rituals that were widespread across Europe 5,000 years ago.
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