Abstract
The 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.
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