In Finland, during the Stone Age, the dead used to be buried in pits dug in the ground. The bodies of the deceased were accompanied by traditional grave goods: objects made of bone, teeth, horns, skins or feathers. The acid Finnish soil, however, has not helped in the conservation of this organic matter.
A new research method practiced by archaeologists at the University of Helsinki has made it possible, for the first time, to detect microscopic fragments of bird feathers, plant fibers and hair from canine animals and small mammals in a burial of a child who lived about 9,500 years ago. years.
The grave was discovered in 2018 under a gravel and sand road in a forest during the excavation of a Stone Age burial ground at risk of being destroyed at the Majoonsuo site in Outokumpu municipality in eastern Finland. . The tomb had been partially exposed and was notable for its intense red ocher color, widely used both in burials and in cave art.
Evidence, however, was found few, as explained in an article published in the journal Plos ONE. Just a few teeth of the deceased, from which it has been known that he was a child between 3 and 10 years old. In addition, two arrowheads made of quartz and two other possible objects of the same material appeared.
Based on the shape of the points and the dating at the shoreline level, it can be estimated that the burial took place in the Mesolithic period of the Stone Age, approximately 7,500 years before Christ. But what made this find unusual was the almost complete preservation of the original tomb floor.
The archaeologists, led by Tuija Kirkinen, collected a total of 65 soil sample bags that were analyzed at the University of Helsinki laboratory, where organic matter was separated from the samples using water. In this way, the exposed fibers and hairs were identified with the help of light microscopy.
From the soil collected, 24 microscopic fragments of bird feathers were identified, most of which came from down (perhaps a parka or anorak) made from an anseriform aquatic bird (those that are shaped like goose) and which have become the oldest such evidence ever found in Finland.
Investigators point to the possibility that the child was lying on a feather bed. Near it, a falcon feather fragment was identified that could be part of the feathering of the arrows or the feathers that were used to decorate the garment.
On the other hand, 24 mammalian hair fragments were found. Most were badly degraded, making it no longer possible to identify them. The best samples were the three hairs of a canine found at the bottom of the grave. The two hypotheses that are considered are that they were part of the footwear made of wolf or dog skin or that a dog was placed at the child's feet.
"Dogs have been found buried with the deceased, for example, at Skateholm, a famous burial site in southern Sweden dating back to around 7,000 years ago," Professor Kristiina Mannermaa says in a statement. “The discovery at Majoonsuo is sensational, even though there is nothing left but hair, not even teeth. We don't even know if it's a dog or a wolf,” she adds.
Three remnants of plant fibers also appeared, which are particularly poorly preserved in the acidic soil of Finland. The fibers were what are known as bast fibres, which means that they come from willows or nettles. At the time, the object they were part of may have been a net used for fishing, a cord used to tie clothing, or a bundle of string.
At the moment, only one other plant fiber discovery dating back to the Stone Age is known in Finland: the famous Antrea net on display in the National Museum, intertwined with willow filaments.
