Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Teeth from a Female Burial in Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov, Northwestern Russia (c. 6200 cal BC) – Local Rarities or Transported Goods?

Abstract

ABSTRACTTooth pendants of European elk, Eurasian beaver and brown bear are the most common artefact type in graves at Late Mesolithic Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov on Lake Onega, northwestern Russia. In one burial of a 20-35-year-old woman, 18 fragments of wild boar tooth pendants from at least five individuals were found. Wild boar was not a regular part of local fauna in the Mesolithic, and if these wild boars were hunted locally, they were very unusual game. These wild boar tooth pendants may also represent imported goods that came to Onega from a more southern area via exchange. It is also possible that the woman was not local but came from a region where wild boars were abundant and common game for Mesolithic people.