Scientists have reconstructed the life of a stone age shaman

German researchers were able describe the life of a powerful shaman who lived 9000 years ago in the territory of modern Saxony-Anhalt. She met her guests sitting on the floor, and in order to look into their eyes, she occasionally lifted the “veil” from the teeth of wild animals that covered her face.

Usually at this point, her pupils began to move uncontrollably back and forth, from right to left and up and down. This strange phenomenon is known to modern physicians as an eye tremor or nystgam. The disease is usually caused by damage to the brain. It was probably expressed especially brightly by a shaman of the Stone Age. Therefore, people feared and respected her for this “manifestation” of power over the afterlife. The bones of a shaman were found in 1934 in Bad Dürrenberg.

“This woman was probably the most respected person in the center of today’s Germany in her time and for a long time after it,” said Harald Meller, leader of the paleoarchaeological team.

It is curious that the fascist archaeologists who found the shaman decided that the remains of a man were in front of them. Next to it, an unprecedented amount of grave goods was found.

It was only a few years ago that it became clear that this was a woman who definitely wielded tremendous power. Next to her, they found the remains of a bone “veil” and a hat with deer antlers.

After carefully examining her bones, which are in excellent condition, scientists came to the conclusion that she did not walk much, and often sat with her legs tucked under her.

The researchers drew attention to the woman’s skull and two upper cervical vertebrae. There are no characteristic bony features in this segment. In addition, there is an anomaly – in the occipital foramen there is a depression the size of a pea. All these malformations almost never occur at the same time. In modern Germany there are not even a few people with such malformations.

They could lead to a kind of brain failure. The arteries were pinched during movement, which led to dizziness if the woman raised her head. It is possible that this phenomenon was accompanied by signs of paralysis. The shaman, apparently, often hunched over.

The combination of these factors could lead her into a kind of trance or ecstasy, which others took for communication with the world of spirits. It also turned out that the woman’s teeth were filed. She must have been in excruciating pain at that moment.

The remains of a baby aged 8-9 months were also found in the shaman’s grave. Scientists have found that it was a boy who was not related to her by family ties. Most likely, he died a few years before the woman. Apparently, she used it in a mummified form in shamanic rituals.

Bone shields were also found in her grave, which are 400-800 years younger than the main burial. Consequently, she continued to be revered for several centuries after her death. Apparently, contemporaries considered her an unusually powerful sorceress.

The shaman died at the age of 30-35. The cause of her death could not be ascertained. Perhaps the constant pressure on the artery caused the stroke. This physiological feature brought the woman not only unheard of glory, but also death.

Read also: “Charles III authorized the DNA examination of the remains of princes murdered 500 years ago”