Frontlets from the south-east coast of the Baltic Sea? Seal craniums from Šventoji: a unique clue to understanding the symbolic culture of European middle Holocene hunter-gatherers
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Traceologija; Simbolinė kultūra; Antspaudas; Kaulai; Kaukolės; Subneolitas; Traceology; Symbolic culture; Seal; Bones; Subneolithic.
ENThe starting point for the studies described in the article were the results of traceological studies of a collection of seal craniums discovered during archaeological excavations at a Subneolithic site complex in Šventoji, Lithuania. Microscopic analysis revealed repetitive technological traces and well-developed use damages on the surfaces, the characteristics of which most likely indicate their use during ritual practices, possibly in a similar way to that suggested for antler frontlets known from several Mesolithic sites. This is the first such discovery in this part of Europe, shedding new light on the symbolic culture of the hunter-gatherer communities inhabiting the south-eastern Baltic Sea coast between 3200 and 2700 cal BC, and especially the role of seals and their skulls, what is discussed in the article in a wider perspective. The use-wear traces described in the article are also a unique example of damage created on the surface of artefacts that are associated with ritual practices, and can, therefore, provide important information in identifying and correctly interpreting similar objects of this type elsewhere. [From the publication]
- Aquatic Radiocarbon Reservoir Offsets in the Southeastern Baltic / Gytis Piličiauskas, Carl Heron. Radiocarbon. 2015, Vol. 57, Nr. 4, p. 539-556.
- Coastal Lithuania during the Neolithic / Gytis Piličiauskas. Hundred years of archaeological discoveries in Lithuania / edited by Gintautas Zabiela, Zenonas Baubonis, Eglė Marcinkevičiūtė. Vilnius: Lietuvos archeologijos draugija, 2016. P. 96-109.
- Comb ware culture in Lithuania: new evidence from Šventoji 43 / Gytis Piličiauskas, Dalia Kisielienė, Giedrė Piličiauskienė, Likas Gaižauskas. Algirdas Kalinauskas. Lietuvos archeologija. 2019, t. 45, p. 67-103.
- Hunter-gatherer bone and antler implements in Lithuanian coastal area: recent studies in chronology, technology and decoration patterns / Tomas Rimkus. Vēsture (Latvijas Universitāte) 2022, 13/14, p. 26-47.
- Lietuvos pajūris subneolite ir neolite : žemės ūkio pradžia / Gytis Piličiauskas. Lietuvos archeologija. 2016, t. 42, p. 25-103.
- Reconstructing Subneolithic and Neolithic diets of the inhabitants of the SE Baltic coast (3100–2500 cal BC) using stable isotope analysis / Gytis Piličiauskas, Rimantas Jankauskas, Giedrė Piličiauskienė, Tosha Dupras. Archaeological and anthropological sciences. 2017, 9(7), p. 1421-1437.
- Stone age amber figurines from the Baltic area / Marius Irsėnas. Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis 2001, t. 22, p. 77-85.
- The Elks of Šventoji : taking another closer look / Marius Iršėnas, Tomas Rimkus, Adomas Butrimas, Gvidas Slah. Archaeologia Baltica. 2018, t. 25, p. 125-139.
- Towards an understanding the role of seals in the Subneolithic communities of the South-East coast of the Baltic Sea. The bacula from Šventoji 3 site / Grzegorz Osipowicz. Archaeologia Lituana. 2020, t. 21, p. 27-40.
