Mystery of a 7,000-year-old woman

In the early 1980s, one unusual Mesolithic grave discovered in Sweden sparked a lot of excitement.
‘Burial XXII’ was found along with 87 other graves at a site in Skateholm, on the southern coast. What stood out to archaeologists was that the inhabitant of this particular grave was buried sitting up, cross-legged, and surrounded by hundreds of animal bones and teeth. Now the ’seated woman’ or ‘shaman’ as some call her, has been expertly recreated for a new exhibit.

To the archaeologist who excavated her remains, she’s Burial XXII. To the staff at the museum where she will be displayed, she’s known as the “Seated Woman” (for now, at least, though they’re open to other suggestions). And to the artist who reconstructed her life-size image and imagined her piercing stare, she’s the “Shaman.”

Her real name was likely last uttered some 7,000 years ago in the fertile marshes and forests of what is now southwest Sweden. But while that name is forgotten to history, a team led by archaeologist and artist Oscar Nilsson was able to breathe life into her remarkable burial with a reconstruction that will be unveiled at Sweden’s Trelleborg Museum in November 17.
The woman was buried upright, seated cross-legged on a bed of antlers. A belt fashioned from more than 100 animal teeth hung from her waist and a large slate pendant from her neck. A short cape of feathers covered her shoulders.

From her bones, archaeologists were able to determine that she stood a bit under five feet tall and was between 30 and 40 years old when she died. DNA extracted from other individuals in the burial ground where she was found confirmed what we know about Mesolithic peoples in Europe—that they were dark-skinned and pale-eyed.
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Mystery of a 7,000-year-old woman