A team of Turkish archaeologists from Mardin Artuklu University discovered the 12,000-year-old grave of a woman who was understood to have been a shaman during her lifetime. The research was published in the scientific journal magazine L’Anthropology.
The find was made in the southeast of the Republic of Turkey, where Cemka Mound is located. According to previous research, hunter-gatherers lived here in the Neolithic age and began to establish the first settlements.
The remains of a woman were found under the floor of a clay building. This type of burial was common practice at the time, but scientists were struck by an unusual detail – numerous animal bones neatly arranged around a human skeleton. Among them were the skull of a pie, the wings of a partridge, and the legs of a marten.
In addition, the body of the alleged shaman was pressed to the ground with a large block of limestone.
According to archaeologists, such a careful burial may be due to special rituals, because in primitive societies it was believed that shamans communicated with the world of spirits, both good and evil. Ancient people also believed that extraterrestrial beings could inhabit the body of a priest or priestess.
Earlier scientists discovered Mass burial of children in Bronze Age Norway.