Skeleton of 12,000-year-old shaman discovered buried with leopard, 50 tortoises and human foot
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - 10:21
in Paleontology & Archaeology
The skeleton of a 12,000 year-old Natufian Shaman has been discovered in northern Israel by archaeologists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The burial is described as being accompanied by "exceptional" grave offerings - including 50 complete tortoise shells, the pelvis of a leopard and a human foot. The shaman burial is thought to be one of the earliest known from the archaeological record and the only shaman grave in the whole region.