THE first scientific analysis of the oldest known evidence of shamanic costumes in Europe has revealed details of what life was like in the region 11,000 years ago.

University of York archaeologists have used traditional techniques to create replicas of the 24 hunter-gatherers’ red deer ritual headdresses discovered during excavations at the early mesolithic site at Star Carr in North Yorkshire – which represent around 90 percent of all such known artefacts across early prehistoric Europe.

Flint blades, hammerstones and burning were among the tools and techniques they employed to fashion reproductions of shamanic headdresses.

The research, published in PLOS ONE, challenges previously held assumptions over the care and time invested in the modification of the animal’s “skull cap” in order to create these ritualistic artefacts.

The study, part of a five-year project supported by the European Research Council, Historic England and the Vale of Pickering Research Trust, suggests hunter-gatherers achieved this through convenient manufacturing techniques.

These may have involved packing the skull with damp clay and placing it in a bed of embers for up to four hours both to facilitate skin removal and make the bone easier to work.

Lead author Dr Aimée Little said: "Knowing fire was used invokes a real sense of atmosphere surrounding the making of these ritual shamanic headdresses."

Professor Nicky Milner, co-director of the excavations at Star Carr, near Scarborough, added: “These headdresses are incredibly rare finds in the archaeological record. This work into how they might have been made has given us an important glimpse into what life was like 11,000 years ago.”