Little, Aimée orcid.org/0000-0003-4713-4260, Elliott, Benjamin, Conneller, Chantal orcid.org/0000-0001-9294-5244 et al. (18 more authors) (2016) 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. e0152136. ISSN 1932-6203
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016, Little et al. |
Keywords: | Mesolithic, hunter-gatherer, Star Carr, Headdress, shamanism |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Archaeology (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Hull York Medical School (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Biology (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 24 May 2016 14:07 |
Last Modified: | 01 Dec 2024 01:07 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152136 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0152136 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:100007 |