Archaeologists excavating a prehistoric burial mound near Wrocław have discovered an extraordinary necklace made from 42 teeth alongside the skeleton of an adult man, stone weapons and human skull remains, in a find that researchers believe could shed new light on the Corded Ware culture in south-western Poland.
The burial, discovered near Żórawina, is preliminarily dated to shortly after 2900 BC, making it approximately 5,000 years old. Researchers say it is among the first burial mounds of this age identified in the Wrocław area.
At the centre of the discovery is a necklace consisting of 42 single-rooted teeth, including incisors and canines. The teeth had been deliberately perforated and appear to have been strung together.
According to Dr Paweł Dąbrowski, an anthropologist and anatomist at Wrocław Medical University, the teeth came from large mammals and may include specimens from canids such as wolves, as well as deer or a young bear. Researchers have not yet ruled out the possibility that some could be human.
“Just before closing our site, we found a barrow near 1,600-year-old structures, and within it, teeth arranged in a necklace,” Dąbrowski said.
Several bone and amber beads were also discovered alongside the necklace.
Genetic analysis of the teeth is now planned to establish precisely which species they came from.
Possible Grave of a Warrior or Clan Leader
The necklace was not the only remarkable object inside the mound.
Slightly deeper in the burial, archaeologists uncovered the skeleton of an adult man accompanied by two flint implements, described as a small spearhead and a type of flint knife. A stone axe was found beside the man’s remains.
Researchers say the axe displays evidence of use and appears to have been a functional weapon rather than a purely ceremonial grave offering.
The combination of weapons and the elaborate necklace has prompted researchers to consider whether the man occupied an important position within his community.
“It’s possible we’ve discovered the grave of a warrior or hunter, but because of this necklace, we can assume it was someone important, for example, the leader of a family clan,” Dąbrowski said.
Another interpretation raised by archaeologists is that the deceased could have been the patriarch of an extended family group.
These interpretations remain preliminary. Bone samples have been prepared for radiocarbon dating, with results expected in the autumn. Researchers currently believe the final date is unlikely to differ from their initial estimate by more than about two centuries.
Human Skulls Raise Questions About Ritual Practices
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the burial is the presence of remains from two additional human skulls.
Their association with the central burial has raised the possibility that the grave contained the heads of other individuals as ritual or votive deposits. Researchers stress, however, that further analysis will be needed before intentional decapitation can be established.
The skulls will undergo detailed morphological, genetic and radiocarbon analysis to determine the age and sex of the individuals and whether all the human remains belong to the same period.
Scientists will also examine the bones for evidence that the heads were deliberately removed.
The adult male skeleton, meanwhile, will be studied for traces of injuries that could support the hypothesis that he was a hunter or warrior.
Preservation presents a considerable challenge. Although much of the skeleton survives, many of the bones are extremely fragile and were therefore removed from the excavation together with the surrounding soil.
Researchers plan to use X-ray imaging to examine some of the remains before they are fully extracted from the earth.
Second Burial Mound Found Nearby
The Żórawina discovery has become even more significant because archaeologists have identified comparable prehistoric burials only a few kilometres away.
At approximately the same time, rescue excavations at a construction site in the village of Iwiny uncovered another burial mound containing a skeleton accompanied by two axes, flint artefacts and amber ornaments.
A second mound subsequently discovered at Iwiny contained the bones of a calf, raising the possibility that an animal had been deposited as part of a sacrificial or funerary ritual.
Researchers now intend to combine evidence from the Żórawina and Iwiny sites.
“No similar finds have been made in this region before,” the scientists said.
The close geographical proximity and apparent similarities between the burials could provide important evidence about prehistoric communities living around present-day Wrocław roughly five millennia ago.
DNA Could Reveal Where the People Came From
Scientists are planning an extensive programme of archaeological, anatomical, chemical and genetic research on the discoveries.
DNA analysis could help establish biological relationships between the individuals and provide evidence about their ancestry and population history.
Researchers also plan to examine haplogroups — genetic lineages that can help reconstruct ancient population movements.
The discoveries are being considered in the wider context of the Corded Ware phenomenon, which spread across large areas of Europe during the third millennium BC and has long been associated with substantial population movements and cultural change.
Ancient DNA research has previously demonstrated significant genetic connections between Corded Ware populations and people with ancestry linked to the Eurasian steppe.
Dąbrowski said researchers hope the newly recovered remains will help them investigate how populations moved into and across Central Europe over successive generations.
Rather than necessarily representing a single migration, such movements could have involved successive groups travelling along major river systems before establishing new communities farther west.
Teeth May Reveal What People Ate
The human remains could provide information extending well beyond ancestry.
Scientists plan to analyse the microscopic structure and physicochemical composition of the bones to investigate nutrition and diet.
The research could help establish the relative importance of meat and cultivated cereals such as wheat and barley in the individual’s diet.
Dąbrowski also plans to examine microscopic damage preserved on tooth enamel.
Patterns of wear and tiny injuries can provide clues about the texture of food and the intensity of chewing, potentially revealing whether people regularly consumed tough, fibrous foods or softer meals that had been processed through cooking, boiling or other preparation techniques.
Such odontological and palaeoanthropological evidence could provide an unusually detailed picture of everyday life thousands of years ago.
Researchers also hope to identify signs of ancient diseases, metabolic disorders and inherited genetic traits by combining the material recovered from Żórawina and Iwiny.
Unexpected Find Beneath a Much Younger Cemetery
The prehistoric mound was discovered during excavations that initially focused on a much later archaeological site.
During the summer, scientists, university students and volunteers near Żórawina were investigating a cemetery dating from the end of the Roman period and beginning of the Migration Period, approximately AD 350–430.
The excavations were led by archaeologist Professor Tomasz Gralak, head of the Department of Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Archaeology at the University of Wrocław.
Dąbrowski, from the Department of Normal Anatomy at Wrocław Medical University, led the anthropological team.
It was during the final days of the excavation that the much older burial mound emerged close to the Late Antique structures.
The discovery has effectively pushed the archaeological story of the site back several thousand years.
For researchers, the combination of the elaborate tooth necklace, weapons, multiple human remains and nearby burial mounds presents a rare opportunity to investigate prehistoric society in the Wrocław region.
Radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis and detailed examination of the human and animal remains will now determine whether the initial interpretation holds — and whether the man buried with his remarkable necklace was indeed a warrior, hunter or powerful figure within a community that lived in what is now south-western Poland some 5,000 years ago.
Sources : PAP
