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https://preview.redd.it/zt0fytvsofna1.jpg?width=414&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=796f3333a190d96dcfa85d8afd43e6e20d548c47

The Mesolithic shaman of Bad Dürrenberg was initially discovered as the remains of a 30 to 40 year old woman, who was buried in a relatively lavish grave, 8600 to 9000 years ago. Around her, among many artifacts, were the remains of an extraordinary head-dress, made from the bones and teeth of different animals such as deer, wild boar, crane and turtle.

The artist's image of her is a careful reconstruction that shows her full regalia, likely worn to be immediately recognized when out and about among her tribe and/or in rituals.

A detailed analysis of the woman's skeleton revealed that her two uppermost cervical vertebrae were malformed and that blood vessels in the lower skull area could have been spatially restricted, at will: by holding her head in a certain position, it's possible that she was able to clamp off a blood vessel, intentionally causing nystagmus, an involuntary circular motion in both eyes, one clockwise, the other counter-clockwise, impossible for a human to consciously create. This malformation may have given her a special status in her tribe.

https://www.landesmuseum-vorgeschichte.de/en/permanent-exhibition/human-succession/the-shaman-from-bad-duerrenberg.html