Stone Age deceased dressed in spectacular feather and fur headgear

A recently published examines the microscopic remains of the clothing and burial items dating back roughly 7,000 years. 

The study focused on the Skateholm I and II cemeteries in Scania, southern Sweden, with a total of 87 graves. In archaeological excavations carried out in the 1980s, objects made of stone as well as animal bones, antlers and teeth were recovered from the grounds. Skateholm is one of the most significant Mesolithic Stone Age burial sites in northern Europe.

Importance of birds and feathers

The ERC-funded project has developed a technique to distinguish fibres, hairs and feather fragments from soil samples taken from graves. It is based on water-assisted fibre separation. The current study is the first to apply the technique to this extent, with a total of 35 graves studied.

According to researcher and archaeologist , who oversaw the analyses in the study, the technique can be applied to any archaeological materials, not just graves.

Kirkinen specialises in microarchaeology and organic material culture, particularly fibres, hairs and textiles. 

“The technique works well. Species-level identification of microscopic feather and hair fragments is difficult, and this aspect of the analysis method can still be developed further.”

“The study underlines the significance of birds and their feathers, and it produces fascinating new knowledge,“ says Professor , who heads the overall project and contributed to the study.

Knowledge of Stone Age clothing increases

According to Kirkinen, information on Stone Age clothing is scarce, even though skeletal remains and objects made of bone can be preserved under optimal conditions also in Fennoscandia. 

“In general, fur, plant fibres and other soft organic materials have been recovered only under specific conditions, such as in underwater sites or in glaciers. For example, the fur clothing of Ötzi, found in the Italian Alps near the Austrian border, had been preserved so well that it was possible to restore his outfit. With our method, it is possible to find microscopic fibres even in areas with poor preservation conditions.”

The study demonstrates that the skins of aquatic birds as well as the furs of mustelids, felines and other fur animals were used to clothe the deceased buried at Skateholm. 

Footwear made of fur and feathers

The large mammals represented in the graves included a deer and a ruminant (the auroch or the European bison). Hawk or eagle feathers, owl feathers and the hairs of small fur animals found around heads indicate that many of the dead wore impressive headdresses. 

Fur and feather remains were also found in graves that were previously considered empty, meaning that no objects were found to accompany the skeletons. 

In one such grave, a white hair from the winter pelage of a stoat or a weasel, a brown feline hair and fragments of a bird feather were detected at the feet of a deceased woman over 60 years of age. This suggests that she was wearing multicoloured footwear made of fur, feathers or bird skin.

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The study is part of the ERC-funded Animals Make Identities project, involving researchers from the University of Helsinki and Lund University.