A group of Israeli researchers discovered an ancient grave in a tiny cave from the lower Galilee region of modern Israel, which they believe was a Natufian burial site for more than 28 persons. The Natufians were the first to switch to a sedentary society, according to researcher Leore Grosman and a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The burial grounds were evaluated to be 12,000 years old.

As the scientists believe, “The interment rituals and the method used to construct and seal the grave suggest this is the burial of an ancient shaman, one of the earliest known from the archaeological record”. Many civilizations throughout history held shamans in high esteem, since they were believed to tape the powers of both the human and the spiritual world, as communities' healers, magicians or vessels for messages from beyond.

 

The old woman in question was buried with ten large stones placed on parts of her body meant to keep it in a certain position, indicating her status within the community. “The burial of the woman... is unlike any burial found in the Natufian or the preceding Palaeolithic periods. We argue that this burial is consistent with expectations for a shaman's grave,” shared the specialists. Along with her body, a series of items was placed in the grave, such as whole tortoise shells, as well as body parts from a cow, a wild boar, a leopard, an eagle, two martens and a human (namely its foot).

 

“Tortoises, cow tails, eagle wings, and fur-bearing animals continue to play important symbolic and shamanistic roles in the spiritual arena of human cultures worldwide today. It seems that the woman in the Natufian burial was perceived as being in a close relationship with these animal spirits,” explained the researchers. Further studies will solve the dilemma to some extent, although there is never solid certainty within this field of work.