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The oldest-known piece of Mesolithic jewellery has been found, say experts.
The 11,000 year old pendant, which is engraved from shale, was discovered during an archaeological dig at Star Carr, an Early Mesolithic site in North Yorkshire. The markings, which take the form of several intercrossing lines, may represent "a tree, a map, a leaf... or even tally marks", according to experts working on the dig. This kind of engraving is incredibly rare, and the team say that there are no other known engraved pendants in Europe.
Archaeologists describe the discovery as "incredibly exciting". "It's unlike anything we've found in Britain from this period," said Nicky Milner, who led the research. "We can only imagine who owned it, how they wore it and what the engravings meant to them."
The pendant has been described as one of the oldest pieces of artwork ever found -- though it is predated by European cave paintings by some 30,000 years, and a 2014 study claimed evidence of aesthetic artwork produced as far back as 500,000 years ago.
Still, the pendant is a remarkable find, the researchers said. "One possibility is that the pendant belonged to a shaman -- headdresses made out of red deer antlers found nearby in earlier excavations are thought to have been worn by shamans," Milner said. "We can only guess what the engravings mean but engraved amber pendants found in Denmark have been interpreted as amulets used for spiritual personal protection."
The engravings were not originally visible on the pendant, and were only discovered following a range of digital microscopy techniques were performed. This generated high resolution images, which allowed the team to identify the patterns of the engraving.
The team say the pendant is more than just a trinket -- it could tell us more about the daily lives of early British settlers. "This exciting find tells us about the art of the first permanent settlers of Britain after the last Ice Age," said Chantal Conneller, co-director of the dig. "This was a time when sea-level was much lower than today. Groups roamed across Doggerland (land now under the North Sea) and into Britain. The designs on our pendant are similar to those found in southern Scandinavia and other areas bordering the North Sea, showing a close cultural connection between northern European groups at this time."
If you want to take a closer look at the pendant, it will soon be on display at the Yorkshire Museum in York alongside 10,000 year old fire lighters, flints and "barbed points used for hunting and fishing".
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
