{"id":12269,"date":"2021-06-05T17:19:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-05T23:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=12269"},"modified":"2021-06-05T17:19:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-05T23:19:12","slug":"how-the-ancestors-danced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=12269","title":{"rendered":"How the Ancestors Danced"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

“Adult male from grave 76a in Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov drawn as if he were alive during a dance session: 140 elk teeth on the chest, waist, pelvis, and thighs rattle rhythmically and loudly.” (University of Helsinki)<\/p><\/div>\n

I feel obligated for my North American readers to note that in Scandinavia “elk” means “moose” (Alces alces<\/em><\/a>).((Like a Norwegian elkhound<\/a> is a dog you take moose-hunting, just to locate the moose is all.)) I suppose the Finns use that word “elk”\u00a0 in English because Finland was ruled by Sweden for a time.((From the Middle Ages until 1809<\/a>.)) More about the naming issue here. <\/a>Meanwhile we use a borrowed Algonquian term.<\/p>\n

Many elk\/moose tooth ornaments have been found Stone Age graves (8,000 years before present) in Karelia<\/a>, according to a news release from the University of Helsinki.<\/p>\n

Analysis of the teeth showed they had been used as ornaments, sewn to clothing, and their rattling against each other left disctinctive patterns of wear.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOrnaments composed of elk teeth suspended from or sown on to clothing emit a loud rattling noise when moving,\u201d says auditory archaeologist and Academy of Finland Research Fellow Riitta Rainio<\/strong> from the University of Helsinki. \u201cWearing such rattlers while dancing makes it easier to immerse yourself in the soundscape, eventually letting the sound and rhythm take control of your movements. It is as if the dancer is led in the dance by someone. . . . ”<\/p>\n

Associate Professor of Archaeology Kristiina Mannermaa<\/strong> from the University of Helsinki is excited by the research findings.<\/p>\n

\u201cElk tooth rattlers are fascinating, since they transport modern people to a soundscape that is thousands of years old and to its emotional rhythms that guide the body. You can close your eyes, listen to the sound of the rattlers and drift on the soundwaves to a lakeside campfire in the world of Stone Age hunter-gatherers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In case you are wondering if I have Finnish or Karelian ancestry, I do not that I know of. And there is complicated story of groups of people here \u2014 Neanderthals, perhaps, then Stone Age hunters, Neolithic farmers\/herders, and then Indo-European-speaking Bronze Age people. But go back far enough and one might have some of each. So I use “ancestors” in the broadest sense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I feel obligated for my North American readers to note that in Scandinavia “elk” means “moose” (Alces alces).((Like a Norwegian elkhound is a dog you take moose-hunting, just to locate the moose is all.)) I suppose the Finns use that word “elk”\u00a0 in English because Finland was ruled by Sweden for a time.((From the Middle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[20,91,138,242,394,53,395],"class_list":["post-12269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-archaeology","tag-dance","tag-finland","tag-neolithic","tag-paleolithic","tag-russia","tag-stone-age"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6xQTg-3bT","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":983,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=983","url_meta":{"origin":12269,"position":0},"title":""I am a stag of seven tines…"","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"February 9, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"... chanted the old Irish poet Amergin.But when this seven-point bull elk exploded from a shadowy ravine about 25 yards from where M. and I were standing, all I could think about was what a sneaky old elk he was.There we were, two people (and two dogs) standing and talking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Colorado\"","block_context":{"text":"Colorado","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=colorado"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6691,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=6691","url_meta":{"origin":12269,"position":1},"title":"‘Sacred Lands and Spiritual Landscapes’","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"September 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Sacred Lands and Spiritual Landscapes, papers from the spring 2013 Cherry Hill Seminary symposium, edited by Wendy Griffin, is now available for purchase from CHS. Contents Preface, Holli Emore Introduction, Ronald Hutton The Land Within, Wendy Griffin Song of the Cattahoochee: On Being a Southern (Pagan) Witch in Atlanta's Urban\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Paganism\"","block_context":{"text":"Paganism","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=paganism"},"img":{"alt_text":"sacredlands","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/sacredlands.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1230,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=1230","url_meta":{"origin":12269,"position":2},"title":"Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Me","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"October 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday M. pointed out to me a small AP story in Sunday's Denver Post that I had overlooked: the death of Elizabeth Clare Prophet, head of the Church Universal and Triumphant, one of the chief motivators of the \"cults scare\" of the 1970s-1980s.(\"Suffered from dementia for years\" -- there may\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"American religion\"","block_context":{"text":"American religion","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=american-religion"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6492,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=6492","url_meta":{"origin":12269,"position":3},"title":"In Lieu of a Post, a Link to Posts","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"May 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I am living behind this door right now and don't much feel like coming out. So here is something else: Go visit this month's Animist Blog Carnival, the \"Wakeful World Book Club,\" devoted to the works of animist author and Druid Emma Restall Orr.","rel":"","context":"In \"animism\"","block_context":{"text":"animism","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=animism"},"img":{"alt_text":"blue elk door","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/blue-elk-door.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3093,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=3093","url_meta":{"origin":12269,"position":4},"title":"No, Not That Horned God","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"August 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Celebrate your Christian faith with a touch of that ol' Pagan mystique: the \"Holy Shed.\" That is \"shed\" in the sense of naturally shed deer or elk antlers, which some people like to collect for decor projects or for sale to be powdered for Asian men who have not yet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Christianity\"","block_context":{"text":"Christianity","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=christianity"},"img":{"alt_text":"The \"holy shed\" antler cross","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/holyshed-218x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":149,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=149","url_meta":{"origin":12269,"position":5},"title":"The sameness of ski townsBecause\u2026","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"March 23, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"The sameness of ski townsBecause of the poor spring snow conditions, on the 22nd we put the skis in their rack on the Jeep and drove over Fr\u00e9mont Pass from Leadville into Summit County, the heart (or other metaphorical internal organ) of Colorado's ski industry. After walking around the business\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12269"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12277,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12269\/revisions\/12277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}