Antler ax from Syltholm

The antler ax from Syltholm , a place east of Rødbyhavn in Denmark , was found by archaeologists in 2013 during an excavation. The area was overgrown with reeds during the Middle and Neolithic Age . During the excavation, numerous tools and bones were found that humans had deliberately deposited.

The researchers were interested in the process of Neolithization in the first centuries of the Neolithic, in this region around 4000 to 3500 BC. BC Neolithic technology came to Denmark via Central Europe. However, the local hunters and gatherers did not immediately give up their Mesolithic way of life, but continued it parallel to the newly introduced agriculture and animal husbandry.

Some tool types in the Lolland region are classified as “foreign”. "Foreign" and Central European origin are z. B. the shoe last wedges ( Danish skolæstøkser ) from chert . These items date from before the Danish Neolithic Age. Their appearance in Denmark shows the connection to Central Europe.

The heavy ax made of red deer antlers, which still contains a fragment of the original shaft , cannot be directly traced back to a Central European origin, but the design gives an indication of the direction of cultural exchange.

Although antler axes appeared in the Mesolithic, they are still present in the Bronze Age , but as rare tools. The unique shape, known as the “T-shaped antler ax”, is only found in Jutland and northern Germany towards the end of the Mesolithic , but not on the Danish islands. Presumably the artifact came to Lolland via Fehmarn .

Web links

• Museum Lolland-Falster: Is there a tidlig tysk forbindelse? (Danish)