Neolithic Dog Tooth Bag Discovered in Germany – History Blog

Three bags decorated with dog teeth were found in the graves of Neolithic women in the graves of Neolithic women near the village of Krauschwitz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. These women belong to a wired steel culture (2800-2200 B.C.C.), believed to be part of the social elite, who often wear these bags decorated with piercing dog teeth.

Gone are the organic materials (leather or fabric) of the bag, but sewn pierced animal teeth have survived to this day. The upper and lower dog teeth and the lower door handle dog front teeth are embroidered on the front of the bag, interlaced like roof tiles. The bottom of the bag is usually about 30 cm long and at least 20 cm tall. For a fully embroidered bag, nearly 350 teeth are required. These dogs are a medium-sized breed similar to today’s Münsterländer, probably bred specifically for the production of exquisite bags and were killed at a young age. Only in special cases is the imitation of fox teeth or bones used to repair bags. Bag-shaped bags are hung on broadbands and wolf teeth are often sewn.

According to their position in the grave, the bags seem to be in front of the body for the rest of their lives. They can represent a type of baby carrier, as indicated by the occasionally preserved baby bones. Legs, arms and head protrude and further protected with muslin; embroider the 20 cm wide scarf with sequins and lined with dog grinding teeth. Since a bag is also placed in the grave of the young woman who died during pregnancy, it can be assumed that these bags are personal and unforgettable items. The ownership of these labor-intensive and cost-intensive, decorated bags is undoubtedly retained to a narrow elite social class, while the social class to which the Klauschwitz community belongs remains. Such “baby vectors” were found in 20% of women’s burials. In Nessa, just 1.7 kilometers away, the body of a socially strata woman was recovered at a construction site on a high-voltage transmission line. Her funeral also included a similar bag containing the remains of the fetus or newborn.

The State Monument Conservation and Archaeology Office (LDA) in Saxony-Anhalt has been digging various sites along the 105-mile planned route of the Suedostlink high-voltage power line. The route has passed through thousands of years of living areas, and so far, investigations have revealed many prehistoric burials.

Discovery in the Krauschwitz region is particularly important. In addition to the dog-tooth bag, the investigation also found five 6,000-year-old burial mounds in the Neolithic Balberg culture. The dead were buried in the grave, then covered by wooden houses, and then covered with earth to create mounds that stand out from the landscape. Today, the mounds are no longer visible, but the excavations reveal the foundations of the wooden hut and the burial below. A total of 15 Balberg cultural tombs were found on the new power line.

A thousand years later, when rope cultures inhabit the area, the Balberg mound remains impressive. They followed the footsteps of their predecessors and established their own settlements on the same hill near Krauschwitz, where they settled in Baalberg. They also buried their deaths in ancient burial mounds. Although there are occasional double burials, rope burials are mainly individuals. They were lying southward, with the male on the right and the woman on the left lying on the left.

Burials with bag remains will be removed from soil blocks and thoroughly analyzed in the State Office’s Monument Conservation and Saxony-Anhalt Archaeology workshop. On-site excavations will continue until July.