Unique Bones Decorated With Black Markings Discovered In 4,500-Year-Old Tomb In Ukraine

AncientPages.com - When archaeologists open an ancient tomb they never really know what they will find inside.

Our ancestors’ burial customs were often perplexing and unique.

This time scientists have examined a 4,500-year-old tomb in the Dniester region, Ukraine. It is the resting place of a young woman aged 25-30. What is unusual about this discovery is that the bones are covered with unique decorations including parallel lines. What was the purpose of these man-made black markings?

Credit: Danuta Żurkiewicz 

"While drawing and photographing the burial, our attention was drawn to regular patterns, such as parallel lines visible on both elbow bones," archaeologist Danuta Żurkiewicz from the Institute of Archaeology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań told Science in Poland.

Experts from experts from the Faculty of Chemistry of Adam Mickiewicz University and the Department of Forensic Medicine, Poznań University of Medical Science have analyzed the black substance and say it is similar to wood tar.

"It is surprising that the procedure of decorating the bones had to be done after death and the process of body decomposition. This is clearly indicated by the location of the decoration on the bone surface and the way dye was applied," Żurkiewicz said.

Credit: Danuta Żurkiewicz 

In her opinion, the recent finding proves how complicated funeral rituals were millennia ago. Żurkiewicz says it seems clear that a while after the woman’s death the grave was re-opened, bone decoration was performed and the bones were re-arranged in anatomical order.

It’s a unique discovery and the archaeologists reminds us that nothing similar have been found in the region before. “Until now, the few similar discoveries have been interpreted as remnants of tattoos, but none of them have been analyzed using so many modern methods, which is why they can not be confirmed with full confidence," Żurkiewicz argues.

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The people who lived in this region about 4,500 years ago were nomads. They never constructed any permanent settlements which is the reason why we cannot find any ancient ruins of their houses. They buried their dead in monumental burial mounds.

"However, women were rarely buried in them. The deceased, whose bones were covered with patterns, had to be an important member of the community", Żurkiewicz believes.

For now the ancient black markings remain a mystery, but they must have been of significance to our ancestors who took time to open the grave and create those lines on the body of the deceased.

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