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Central Germany is among the regions where, as early as the mid-6th millennium BC, farmers displaced the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from the fertile loess soils. Soon after this migration, however, exchange began between the newcomers and the established inhabitants.The State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt is investigating the Neolithic Eilsleben settlement, a key site for understanding this period. A recently published study now presents new findings: a roe deer antler headdress finds its closest comparison in the Mesolithic "shaman" grave from Bad Dürrenberg. This find highlights the intensity of the contacts between early farmers and hunter-gatherers.
Historical Background: Migration of Neolithic farmers
From around 9600 BC, the climate in Central Europe improved significantly after the last Ice Age. In archaeology, this turning point is linked to the beginning of the Mesolithic period (the Middle Stone Age). The people of this period, like those of the preceding Paleolithic, were hunter-gatherers. In the increasingly forested landscape of Central Germany, they hunted prey such as roe deer, red deer, European bison, and wild boar with bows and arrows. The importance of fishing and plant-based food increased. The remarkable grave of the "shaman" from Bad Dürrenberg (Saalekreis district) dates from this period.
Besides the Nebra Sky Disc, the grave of the "shaman" from Bad Dürrenberg is one of the most spectacular finds in Central European archaeology and a highlight of the permanent exhibition at the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle (Saale). The woman, aged 30 to 40, was buried approximately 9,000 years ago in an elaborate tomb along with a child of about six months old. Among other things, a headdress made of a roe deer antler and pendants of animal teeth attest to the deceased's special status as a shaman, the spiritual leader of her group.
Central Germany is among the regions where, as early as the mid-6th millennium BC, the first farmers, archaeologically classified as the Linear Pottery culture and genetically descended from Anatolia and the Aegean, displaced the hunter-gatherers from the fertile loess soils. However, contact and exchange between the newcomers and the foragers began soon after their arrival. Findings that shed light on these contacts are rare. The settlement of Eilsleben-Vosswelle in the Börde district of Saxony-Anhalt is one of the most important sites for understanding this transitional phase.
An outpost in a forward position: The settlement of Eilsleben
The site lies on the northernmost edge of the loess zone, approximately 2.5 kilometers southeast of Eilsleben, on a gentle slope descending towards the Aller River, and was identified as early as the 1920s through surface finds. Initial exploratory excavations in 1973 were followed by extensive excavations by Dieter Kaufmann between 1974 and 1989, which unearthed a multi-phase settlement of the Linear Pottery culture, likely fortified with a rampart, ditch, and fence. It is noteworthy that even the settlement of the earliest Linear Pottery culture appears to have been fortified, a rare exception that may be related to its exposed position in the border region (see a recent paper in “Antiquity” doi:10.15184/aqy.2025.10270).
There appears to have been intensive contact with the hunter-gatherer groups in the surrounding area. Not only do the stone and antler tools from the settlement show affinities to Mesolithic manufacturing techniques and tool forms, but a worked deer antler, which was part of a headdress, has its closest analogues in Mesolithic masks.
When farmers needed a shaman: the antler headdress
From an inconspicuous pit excavated in 1987 came the antler of a roe deer approximately two to three years old, which, upon closer inspection, reveals traces of processing. The skull fragment is worked into a rectangle and also shows cut marks indicating skinning. Immediately at the base of the antler, there are notches on both sides. It was likely a headdress or mask – the notches served for fastening. Radiocarbon dating yielded a calibrated C14 age of 5291–5034 BC.
Similarly worked antlers are unknown in the Neolithic period. However, a number of them have been found in Mesolithic contexts. Interpretations vary between hunter's clothing/camouflage and shamanic headdresses. Almost all of the Mesolithic antlers found so far come from red deer. For the much younger roe deer antler from Eilsleben, there is only one good comparison, also from Central Germany: A very similar piece was found in the grave of the shaman from Bad Dürrenberg and is interpreted as part of an elaborate headdress.
The roe deer antler from Eilsleben could thus be evidence of contact between farmers and hunter-gatherer ritual specialists, as researchers from the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt explain in a recently published article in the renowned journal Praehistorische Zeitschrift (https://doi.org/10.1515/pz-2025-2030).
The Neolithic way of life brought with it a number of changes, some of which had a negative impact on people's health. Whether it was dental problems from the regular consumption of starchy grains, new viral and bacterial diseases from close contact with domestic animals, a higher risk of accidents from strenuous work like deforestation, or violent conflicts over land – there are a number of scenarios in which the medical skills of early farmers may have been stretched to their limits. It is conceivable that they would have sought the help of an experienced healer, who not only had connections to the spirit world but also undoubtedly possessed extensive knowledge of the medicinal properties of local plants.
Special exhibition ›The shamaness‹
From March 27 to November 1, 2026, the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle (Saale) will present the major special exhibition "The Shamaness." Based on the latest research findings on the extraordinary burial from Bad Dürrenberg, the exhibition explores the earliest evidence of the phenomenon of shamanism. A large part of the exhibition is also dedicated to the Mesolithic period as an important phase in human cultural development. Finds from Eilsleben will also be on display, including the worked deer antler.
Further information about the shaman of Bad Dürrenberg can be found in the film program of the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt on YouTube (youtube.com/@Landesmuseum_Halle) or on https://mediathek.landesmuseum-vorgeschichte.de/ (English subtitles).
Oliver Dietrich/Harald Meller/Jörg Orschiedt, Ritual encounters at the northern periphery of the early Neolithic world. A roe deer antler headdress from Eilsleben, Börde county, Saxony-Anhalt. Praehistorische Zeitschrift: https://doi.org/10.1515/pz-2025-2030.
Roe deer antler worked into a headdress from Eilsleben
Source: Juraj Lipták
Copyright: State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt
Reconstruction of the Bad Dürrenberg shaman in her ornate, including a roe deer antler
Source: Karol Schauer
Copyright: State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt
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