Prehistoric Teeth Pendants Worn in Ancient Dance 8,000 Years Ago Incite Body Movements

Archaeological research recently showed how prehistoric pendants incited sounds and body movements in ancient dance about 8,000 years ago.

A Phys.org report said, according to Riitta Rainio, an auditory archaeologist and Academy of Finland Research Fellow from the University of Helsinki, ornaments comprising elk teeth sown on or suspended from clothing produce a "loud rattling noise when moving."

Rainio also said, wearing such rattlers during a dance movement makes it easier to immerse oneself in the soundscape, ultimately letting the sound and rhythm take control of his movements. More so, it is as if the one dancing is led in the dance by someone else.

Rainio, together with artist Juha Valkeapaa did a performance to figure out what sort of wear marks are formed in the teeth when banging against each other, not to mention moving in all directions.

Tooth Rattler

This report also specified that a tooth rattler could be clear and bright or loud. Its pounding depends on both the quantity and quality of the teeth and the strength of the movement.

Microanalysis of the study, Prehistoric Pendants as Instigators of Sound and Body Movements: A Traceological Case Study from Northeast Europe, c. 8200 cal. BP, published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal, demonstrates that tooth wear marks are the outcome of dancing.

The teeth worn out as a result of dancing were examined for any microscopic marks prior to and after dancing. Such marks were then compared to findings made by archaeologist Evgeny Girya in the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov, who also specializes in micro-marks at the Russian Academy of Science.

Similarity Between Teeth Worn by the Stone Age Teeth and Dancing

Girya documented and examined the wear marks in the elk teeth discovered in four graves selected for the experiment. Comparing the hollows, chips and cuts, and the smoothened surfaces of the teeth, the archaeologist observed a clear similarity between teeth worn by the Stone Age teeth and dancing.

Nevertheless, the marks in the Stone Age teeth were described to be deeper, not to mention more extensive. Girya said the results revealed that the marks are the outcome of similar activity.

He added as the Stone Age teeth were worn for many years, or even decades, it is not surprising anymore that their marks are quite unique.

The University of Helsinki's Associate Professor of Archeology Kristiina Mannermaa said she is excited by the study findings.

177 Graves Discovered in a Burial Site

The professor also said elk tooth rattlers "are fascinating," as they transport modern humans to a soundscape aged thousands of years old, as well as to its emotional rhythms that are guiding the body.

One can close his eyes while listening to the rattlers' sound and drift on the soundwaves to a lakeside campfire in the Stone Age hunter-gatherer world.

In a similar report, ScienceDaily specified, about 177 graves of men, women and children have been discovered in the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov burial site, of which over half contain numerous elk tooth ornaments, some of them comprised more than 300 individual teeth.

Related information about prehistoric pendant is shown on Prehistoric Jewelry's YouTube video below: