Neolithic: This was the "Lady von Bietikow"

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The lady has a graceful build, but she is not really young.

On the contrary: it is more than 5000 years old.

The skeleton discovered in May 2020 in the Uckermark in Brandenburg during archaeological excavations turned out to be something special on closer examination.

Now science is trying to get to know the Neolithic lady found in Bietikow.

"The corpse was buried alone, there was no other burial ground, and there were no grave goods such as ceramics or jewelry for exact dating," says the Berlin anthropologist Bettina Jungklaus, who works for the Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation, which is also the State Archaeological Museum.

The main bone finds: the skull, the lower jaw and several long bones.

The pool has not been preserved

Source: dpa

“It was no ordinary grave,” she remembers of her first impression on the excavation site.

Because a wind turbine was to be built there, they came across it.

The bones were carefully exposed and then cleaned.

The legs were at a greater depth, they had to be retrieved separately.

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The experts quickly realized that everything pointed to a squat burial.

This is not a scientific sensation, but it is a rare and exciting find, said excavation director Philipp Roskoschinski.

The company of the Bernauer archaeologist, the Archaeros, works on behalf of the company that builds the wind turbines.

In accordance with the Brandenburg monument protection regulations, he sounded out the terrain before the construction work began.

The dead woman was resting on her right side, her legs and arms drawn up.

The head was turned to the east, the gaze to the north.

Bettina Jungklaus with the lower jaw of the skeleton

Source: dpa

The age of the find has now been determined using the C 14 method, also known as radiocarbon dating.

The woman had sometime between 3400 and 3100 BC.

Lived in BC, says Bettina Jungklaus.

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This confirms the dating in the funnel cup culture, says Christof Krauskopf, spokesman for the Brandenburg State Office for Monument Preservation.

This is a rare and special find for Brandenburg.

The oldest findings of carriages and wheels in Europe come from that time.

"The 'Lady von Bietikow' is a silent witness to a time that brought extensive changes," says excavation manager Roskoschinski.

The woman was around 30 to 45 years old at the time of her death.

Bone parts have just been forwarded to the Max Planck Institute for the History of Man in Jena for a genetic examination.

“We hope to get information about what similarities women had with other population groups at that time.

Did they and their ancestors come from the Middle East, or were they related to the indigenous population who lived in what is now Brandenburg? ”Asks Jungklaus.

Severe caries on the lower jaw of the "Lady von Bietikow"

Source: dpa

“There are many pieces of the puzzle that can be put together and provide exciting insights,” she says.

Krauskopf adds that the investigation of ancient DNA from skeletal finds could contribute a lot to human prehistory, to research into the migration of ancestors and to their settlement.

“Man has always been on the move, always a migrant,” says Krauskopf.

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So far, in addition to the age, it was known that the lady was more of a graceful stature.

Exactly how tall she was and whether she had given birth to children remains in the dark.

“Bones that are important for this information are missing or defective, such as the pelvis,” explains the anthropologist.

The Neolithic woman did not have to work particularly hard physically.

"Nothing on the skeleton indicates that," says Jungklaus.

"The dentition was almost complete, but the teeth were badly worn." This indicates the consumption of grain that was ground between stones.

Abrasion from grinding stones got into the food and stressed the enamel.

According to the information, one tooth was also severely affected by caries.

The resulting inflammation in the lower jaw could have caused blood poisoning and thus a fatal infection.

The woman's appearance will also remain a secret: facial reconstructions based on the skull cost a lot.

"It has not yet been decided whether we can do that with this find," says State Office spokesman Krauskopf.

Whether and in what form the Neolithic lady can be presented to the public depends particularly on restoration considerations.

It may be kept safe in the state office's magazine - ready for science and further research.

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