Last week I read a fascinating paper by Kyselý, Dobeš, Svoboda, 2017 - abstract below. I'll briefly share some of their pay-per-view findings, but my interest is the meaning behind this phenomenon. Related to this previous post:
"Woman with a Wolf-Toothed Necklace"
In a cemetery at Březiněves, Czech Republic, Kyselý, Dobeš, Svoboda examine what they believe is the largest collection of tooth and shell necklaces in the whole of Europe. The distribution of shell and teeth are mostly necklaces, but in many cases the placement of shell beads
or teeth also suggest decoration on certain garments, like women's hobbit cloaks, hoods, capes and purses.
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| Stuff and fake stuff. Fig. 7 (Kyselý, Dobeš, Svoboda, 2017) |
What's interesting about Březiněves, like another recent Corded Ware site in Germany, is that the overwhelming majority of teeth are from domestic dog canines, mostly not wolves, but in a few other cases the canines or incisors of other animals, even canine imitations (above). The shell beads are all from imported freshwater bivalves, which I imagine gave them the
nacre luster of their day.
In the CWC it appears that only women wore a necklaces of canis canines separated by beads of freshwater bi-valve shells. Although pearly buttons and solar emblems sometimes appear alone, and although dog teeth adorn certain women's accessories, the fashioning of the materials in the tooth-shell necklace is rather specific. The tooth-shell necklace is so common and its construction is so prescribed that it would seem reasonable to think that it has a deeper meaning to the wearers than a simple fashion trend. This is what I commented to JV in that first post, paraphrasing a few points from Theoi:
Modern Bi-vavles are called
"naiads" [18th century taxonomy] after the nymphs of the springs, creeks and wetlands. Within
the context of Greek religion, these nymphs of the springs are servants
to Artemis (similar to Frigg), wetnurses of babies and overseers of
girls. Conversely, boys are shepherded by the sun god "Apollo" [associated with wolves], as in the
Roman myth of Romulus and Remus. When a child reached a certain age,
they would return to a spring for some sort of ceremony and sacrifice
for thanks and passing into independence. [Theoi, 2017]
And just to clarify after re-reading that statement, calling pearly mussels 'naiads' is only a modern-English taxonomical convention, nothing to suggest a concrete association between naidads and bivalves in ancient times that I am aware of. Quite a few freshwater plant and animal species incorporate the mythological name in its taxonomical name.
But the point I was clumsily trying to make is that the association between these two species could be explained as a metaphor in Indo-European religion, specifically the relationship between Apollo and Artemis and their divine responsibilities, being suitable proxies for most Indo-European religions. (And it is interesting to note the exclusivity mentioned in Kyselý et al between these necklaces and the solar crosses, and that they are generally worn by women, not men)
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| Romulus and Remus saved |
So again, why would dog teeth be associated with wolves, wolves with a Sun god, and a Sun god with (generally child-bearing age) Corded Ware women? Let me attempt to connect fifty thousand dots just for the heck of it.
The name of one of Apollo's epithets,
Lyceius, is itself very likely a homophonic metaphor of the Proto-Indo-European names for wolf (
*wĺ̥kʷos ) (or
Lykeios -wolf slayer) and shining light (
*lewkós). Similar constructions can be made in the other religions as well, certainly Germanic and Celtic religions. So how does that relate to dogs?
Indo-Europeanists Gamkrelidze and Ivanov have made the case that dogs and wolves were conflated in Indo-European speech and religion
(1995, page 505). Perhaps PIE dogs were more wolf-like and a lot less like Neolithic village dogs. Regardless, I'd venture to bet that dog canines were suitable substitutes for a preference of rarer wolf teeth and that the hypothesis might testable by looking at the most elite CWC female burials or the oldest burials. It's also possible that CWC folks saw no functional distinction between teeth of the two sub-species whatsoever.
Another possibility is that the canines of
shepherd dogs were incorporated into these amulet necklaces for protection
against wolves in addition to general misfortune. A paper by
Jean-Marc Moriceau (2014) relates a sad reality once common in wolf-infested Europe; from a small village in France, 1749:
“Marie, aged approximately 7 years, daughter of Jacques Prudent and his first wife, Tiennette Maroyer, was snatched from her doorway by a wolf and devoured in a field. Only her head, one arm and her stomach were found, and nothing besides. These pitiful remains were buried in the cemetery of this church the following day, fifth October, before my entire parish, who had gathered for Sunday Mass.”
Ironic that such a dark animal subject to local bounties and tributes, a terror of children's stories, an epithet of raiders and berserkers, and a real-life menace to children and livestock would be so venerated in IE folklore and religion. Could it be that the purpose of the teeth and shell is not so much a fashion, but the fact that women of a certain belief system have male and female children?
Drilled teeth and shell artefacts
from a grave at Prague-Březiněves and a review of decorative artefacts
made from animal material from Corded Ware culture in the Czech Republic
Kyselý, R., Dobeš, M. & Svoboda, K. Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-017-0514-5
[Link]
Necklaces or other decorations made from drilled animal teeth and small
perforated shell beads are typical burial objects of graves from the
Late Eneolithic Corded Ware culture (c. 2900–2300 bc)
in the territories of the Czech Republic, based on local data, central
Germany, and to lesser degree in some other European regions. The
richest collection of tooth pendants and shell beads so far discovered
in Bohemia, and potentially the whole of Europe, derives from the recent
excavation at Prague-Březiněves (595 tooth finds; 2801 complete shell
beads and their 5586 fragments). A detailed analysis of this find forms
the first part of the paper. The second, comparative section reviews all
available graves (134 graves) of this culture from the territories of
the Czech Republic that contain decorative items made from animal
material: drilled teeth and imitation teeth, small beads of shell or
bone and larger discs made of shell (or sometimes bone) called “solar”
discs because of the decoration based on the symbol of a cross.
Altogether, over 4000 teeth finds (from 88 graves) and over 30,000 finds
of shell ring (68 graves), serving as beads or pendants, were recorded.
Furthermore, 58 solar discs in 37 graves were recorded. The graves
discussed here are mostly of women, either young or older; but children
also appear. The frequent co-occurrence of teeth and shell beads (small
decorative items) and their tendency to be mutually exclusive with
larger solar discs (possibly brooches with a variety of functions)
attest to two phenomena. Dog teeth, especially canines and incisors,
clearly predominate in the collections of drilled teeth (in Březiněves
min. 502 tooth finds representing at least 403 teeth and at least 73
dogs). Teeth of wild carnivores—wolf (Canis lupus), fox (Vulpes vulpes), wild cat (Felis silvestris), badger (Meles meles), otter (Lutra lutra), smaller mustelids, and brown bear (Ursus arctos)—and deer (Cervus elaphus)
provide clear evidence of their presence in the environment. Two
drilled human premolars are highly exceptional finds. Decorated discs
made from the shells of the non-autochthonous freshwater mussel Margaritifera auricularia
found at Prague-Březiněves and other Czech sites suggest importation
from western or southern Europe. Despite there being significant
inter-grave differences in the composition of the collections, the
regular appearance of the phenomena described in this research in c. 10%
of all graves of this culture, together with the uniformities in the
manufacture of the items, suggests relatively strict rules with respect
to Corded Ware funeral customs. Nevertheless, differences in the
proportions of artefacts within the region were observed, such as a
shift to a relatively higher frequency of discs, a greater
specialisation on dog canines and incisors and the exclusion of
imitation teeth between typological (and probably chronological) groups
of this culture. The role of dogs, the meaning of these phenomena and
their relation to the broader temporo-spatial context are widely
discussed.
See also:
"The Structure and Complexity of Corded Ware Mortuary Practices; a bi-ritual communal burial at Slany (Bohemia) and its social significance" (Jan Turek)
"Dog tooth studded purse" (National Geographic)
"A Reader in Comparative Indo-European Religion" Ranko Matasović, 2016
"Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans. A Reconstruction and Historical Analysis of a Proto-Language and a Proto-Culture by Th.V.Gamkrelidze & V.V. Ivanov (page 505)
