8,000 Years Old Child Bᴜried With Bird Feathers, Plaпt Fibers Aпd Fᴜr Foᴜпd Iп Fiпlaпd
The burial site of a young child who lived 8,000 years ago has been discovered in Eastern Finland, providing a rare glimpse into how Stone Age humans treated their deceased.
The Majoonsuo grave first drew the attention of researchers in 1992 in the municipality of Outokumpu when bright red ocher, a clay rich in iron, was spotted on the surface of a new service trail in the forest. Red ocher has been associated with rock art as well as ornamentation and burials.
This artist’s impression depicts what the the child buried in Majoonsuo might have looked like in life. A dog or wolf might have been laid at the child’s feet.
The Finnish Heritage Agency began excavating the spot in 2018 due to concerns over erosion and motor traffic.
Little was found in the grave, but the surrounding soil revealed its secrets in a recent microscopic analysis published in September in the journal PLOS One.
bright red ocher marked the spot of the grave, uncovered on a service road in a forest in Eastern Finland.
Finland’s Stone Age societies buried their dead in pits in the ground. The soil is so acidic in Finland that little remains preserved after thousands of years, which means traces of archaeological evidence are extremely rare.
The teeth of a child were found in the grave, as well as fragments of bird feathers, plant fibers and canine hair strands after an analysis using a painstaking protocol to uncover the microscopic evidence.
Together, these clues paint a portrait of the deceased.
Researchers determined that the teeth belonged to a child between 3 and 10 years old. Two quartz arrowheads and two other quartz objects, thought to be grave goods, were also recovered.
About 24 tiny feather fragments were found, and seven of them were associated with waterfowl. They represent the oldest feather fragments ever found in Finland. It’s possible that the child was laid to rest on a bed of down feathers, or the child was wrapped in clothing made from waterfowl, like an ancient parka or anorak.
A falcon’s feather was also found in the grave, thought to be part of an arrow likely once attached to an arrowhead, or used as decoration on the child’s clothing.
Fine hairs found at the child’s feet belonged to either a dog or a wolf. It’s possible that one was buried at the child’s feet, or the child was wearing shoes made from the fur of a dog or wolf.
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