| UPDATED: 08:30, Tue, Jan 26, 2021
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While wearing a shark tooth on a necklace might be common today, our ancestors were wearing jewellery fashioned out of elk teeth. Archaeologist made the conclusion after finding a remote burial ground on the island of Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov in Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia, Russia.
Burials from 8,200 years ago on a wee island far up in the north contain all kinds of gear for the afterlife – half of which is elk teeth engraved to be worn as pendants
The researchers found no evidence to connect the pendants to any type of genetic markers. Genetic studies have revealed multi-ethnic origins for the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov (YOO) people, but the similarity in manufacturing techniques used to make the elk teeth pendants, and the physical characteristics of those pendants, indicate a cultural homogeneity that contrasts with the genetic variations.
In other words, the YOO hunter-gatherer culture seems to have been unified by their cultural practices more than by their genetics, suggesting they were an inclusive society that sought unity-in-diversity through a shared cultural heritage.
The oldest artifact ever found in Eurasia is an elk tooth pendant. It was discovered in the Altai region of Russia in an Denisovan cave. (
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IMAGE: A total of 90 elk teeth were placed next to the hips and thighs of the body in grave 127, possibly attached to a garment resembling an apron. There were. view more
Credit: Drawing by Tom Bjorklund
Roughly 8,200 years ago, the island of Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov in Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, housed a large burial ground where men, women and children of varying ages were buried. Many of the graves contain an abundance of objects and red ochre, signifying the wish to ensure the comfort of the buried also after death. Pendants made of elk incisors were apparently attached to clothing and accessories, such as dresses, coats, cloaks, headdresses and belts. Although no clothing material has been preserved, the location of the elk teeth sheds light on the possible type of these outfits.