Danish Mesolithic Period Juvenile Deer Skull Fragment

Ertebølle Culture, c. 5400–3950 BC, Mesolithic Period, Denmark

A fascinating and well-preserved juvenile red deer skull frontlet, peat-bog found and marked by cutting incisions made with flint tools—clear signs of ritual or utilitarian use. This evocative piece comes from the Ertebølle culture, one of Northern Europe’s most intriguing Mesolithic societies.

Renowned for their coastal settlements, dugout canoes, and shell middens, the Ertebølle people thrived through fishing, hunting, and foraging. Animal bones, especially from deer and elk, were essential not just for food but for crafting weapons, tools, and ceremonial objects.

An evocative relic of early hunter-gatherer life, this deer skull fragment offers a striking link to prehistoric ritual and craftsmanship—a rare survivor of Europe’s Mesolithic past.

Good condition. Age-related wear, chip and fractures. Traces of peat bog. Lovely deep dark brown, almost black patina. Fragment is treated with a surface-protecting beeswax layer. Size approx. 14,8cm x 14,0cm x 7,3cm.

Provenance: Danish private collection.

References and further reading:

Europe's First Farmers – T. Douglas Price, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Cambridge University Press, 2000 (http://assets.cambridge.org/97805216/62031/ sample/9780521662031ws.pdf)

Inland Ertebølle Culture: the importance of aquatic resources and the freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dates from pottery food crusts, Bente Philippsen & John Meadows, Internet Archaeology (doi:10.11141/ia.37.9)

Prehistoric period (until 1050 AD)/ The Mesolithic period, Nationalmuseet i København (https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-mesolithic-period/)

First insights into the identification of bone and antler tools used in the indirect percussion and pressure techniques during the early postglacial, Éva David & Mikkel Sorensen, Quaternary International 423, 2016. (DOI:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.11.135)

How Bone Technology points to Cultural Lineages in Prehistory? New Insights from Danish Late-and Post-Glacial Weapons’ Heads, Éva David, Lasse Sørensen, Peter Petersen, Open Access Journal of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2022. (https://hal.science/hal-03598512/document)