Elk Teeth As Cultural Signifier
"The elk was the most important animal for Eurasian prehistoric hunter-gatherers," according to researchers.
This is an illustration (by Tom Björklund), reconstructing the burial/grave of a Stone Age individual, found in what is now Russia's Republic of Karelia.
Ornaments, goods, evidence of clothing, and various artifacts from dozens of separate burials dating back to 6200 BCE (Late Mesolithic period) reveal the importance of the Eurasian elk to local culture and custom. The burial ground excavation showed more than 4,300 Eurasian elk teeth pendants.
Elks have eight incisors each. Elk teeth were used as pendants and in other forms of cultural communication; during funerary rights, yes, but also sewn into clothing earlier in life, used as necklaces, and functioning in parallel with prevailing, strict culture norms. Interestingly, elk were sparse in the forested area where these Stone Age people lived, leading researches to believe the large animals were not killed often.
But researchers hypothesize whether the number of tooth pendants were associated with wealth, a life well-lived (or long-lived), or were a reflection of artisanal personality.
"Based on our observations, we suggest that elk teeth were associated with the lived life of the buried people and that pendants were personal belongings of the deceased. The amount of elk teeth clearly divides the deceased. Because the amount of teeth in the graves does not increase with the age of the deceased, the elk teeth cannot be understood only as signs of accumulated wealth or prestige gained during life. Their importance was something more profound and meaningful than a mere symbol of wealth."
Assessments of this find reinforce previous analysis of the central role of elk in the economic, social, and religious structures of northeastern European people who resided in these areas (e.g., as previously evidenced through surviving artistic depiction).
Strickland, A. 2021. "Burial Ground Reveals Stone Age People Wore Clothing Covered in Elk Teeth." CNN World.
Mannermaa, K., R. Rainio, E.Y. Girya, and D.V. Gerasimov. 2021. "Let's Groove: Attachment Techniques of Eurasian Elk (Alces alces) Tooth Pendants at the Late Mesolithic Cemetery Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov (Lake Onega, Russia)." Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 13: article 3.
