Red deer skull from Star Carr
Rotunda Museum, Scarborough
A number of very rare and important objects have been found at the archaeological site, ‘Star Carr’, dating from the Middle Stone Age or Mesolithic period. Objects found there, such as these red deer skulls, are about 11,000 years old and have helped archaeologists to understand more about how people lived at that time.
Stone Age people had made significant alterations to this red deer skull. The inside has been worked smooth, the antlers cut back, and three large holes carved in the bone. To shape the bone like this would have been difficult and skilled work. It is believed that this work was done so that the skull could be worn on the top of the head. The drilled holes could have been used to tie and secure the frontlet in place.
Why was this work done?
There are different ideas about what it was used for. Some people think it may have been a hunting disguise, or used by shamans during ritual practices or dances.
Could the skulls have been a hunting disguise?
Stone Age people were described as ‘hunter-gatherers’. They would hunt wild animals and fish as well as forage for edible plants. Star Carr was next to a lake and surrounded by woodland with lots of animals to hunt.
Deer were useful not only for their meat but for other materials such as animal fur which was used for clothing. Wearing the skull in this way would have changed the appearance of the wearer, like wearing a disguise or camouflage, in order to get closer to animals. The frontlets are different sizes, possibly indicating that they were worn by men, women and even children, who may have been hunting in groups.
Could the headdress have been worn for rituals?
Prehistoric peoples may have had different thoughts or beliefs which are sometimes hard for us to understand today, including a different relationship with their environment and nature. They co-existed with animals and thought the animal world had its own spirits. ‘Shamans’ or priests might have worn a deer headdress as part of a religious ceremony, speaking to animal spirits. They might have asked for help with hunting or even for illness to be cured.
Once the objects were finished with, they were placed close to the edge of the lake at Star Carr, suggesting they were special.
Why is Star Carr important?
Star Carr has changed our view of Mesolithic people. It is famous due to the range, quantity and quality of finds preserved in the peat around the lake. Organic materials which normally rot, like wood and plants, have all been discovered, as well as stone and animal remains.
Over 30 of these very rare worked deer skulls have been found at Star Carr. It is the only archaeological site where antler frontlets have been found in Britain, with just a few other examples found in Europe.
You can find another object on the site from Star Carr. Explore unusual birch bark rolls and decide what they could have been used for.
Explore bark rolls
Watch the Video – to introduce this object to your group
Watch The Video With Subtitles
Activity coming soon – what does your group make of this unusual object? Explore the evidence and debate its uses with your group
Talking Points
How would it feel on your head? Do you think the people of Star Carr found it easy to wear?
Why do you think jobs like carving a deer skull would have been considerably harder to do 11,000 years ago?
Do you think you’d have enjoyed the process of making the skull? What about wearing it?
Stone Age people hunted deer for their meat. How else might deer be useful?
Do you think Stone Age people had a healthy diet and lifestyle? What aspects of their diet do you think would have been healthy or unhealthy?
What do you think we can learn from Stone Age people? Do you think they would be surprised by any aspects of our lives?
What aspects of life do you think were better or worse about the Stone Age?
Vocabulary
Mesolithic: this term means the Middle Stone Age, usually referring to a period of hunter-gathers. The exact dates vary across Europe and the rest of the world. The site at Star Carr dates to around 11,000 BCE
Neolithic: this term means the New Stone Age and began about 6000 years ago. It is when hunter-gatherers started to settle in one place and start farming
Hunter-gatherer: to hunt and forage for food in the natural environment, travelling from place to place
Forage: to search for food in the natural environment
Shaman: a priest-like person thought to be able to communicate with good and bad spirits, including animal spirits
Organic matter: material that comes from living organisms
In the Classroom
Drama or dance activity
How would you move if you were wearing this ‘frontlet’? You’d have to be careful not to overbalance it and it would probably feel heavy on your head.
Let your students practise walking around the room imagining that they are wearing one, whether for hunting or in a ritual (or both).
Hands on History
You can see this red deer skull frontlet, as well as lots of other objects found at Star Carr, at the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough.
Borrow a loan box to explore Stone Age life further from Scarborough Museums and Galleries.
Or take part in an education workshop to find out more about life in Stone Age Scarborough. This workshop includes exploration of this incredible deer skull.
Schools in the Yorkshire Dales can take part in a ‘Stone Age to Iron Age‘ workshop to explore prehistoric tools at Craven Museum in Skipton.
There are more loan boxes to borrow across North Yorkshire if you can’t make it to Scarborough, including from Malton Museum, Craven Museum in Skipton and the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes.
Museum Location
Find more prehistoric objects to explore