4,500-Year-Old Neolithic Baby Carriers with Dog Tooth Decoration Found in Germany!
Archaeologists working near the village of Krauschwitz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, have uncovered a fascinating window into life from around 4,500 years ago. During excavations ahead of the SuedOstLink power line construction, they found intricately decorated bags, likely used as baby carriers, buried with women from the Corded Ware culture. These discoveries shed new light on motherhood, social hierarchy, and funerary traditions in Neolithic Europe.
The team, led by the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt (LDA), found these remarkable finds along the planned 170-kilometre SuedOstLink route, which stretches from Wolmirstedt to Droyßig. This region is rich in ancient settlements and burial sites, including 15 Middle Neolithic Baalberge burial mounds and 15 graves attributed to the Corded Ware culture.
Among the most striking artefacts are three Corded Ware graves containing bags made from organic materials such as leather or fabric, which have mostly decayed over time. What remains are hundreds of dog teeth painstakingly pierced and sewn in overlapping rows across the front of the bags. Each bag measured roughly 30 centimetres long by 20 centimetres high and contained about 350 teeth. These came from medium-sized dogs, possibly bred and sacrificed specifically to provide the ornate decorations.
Photo Credit: State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt, Klaus Bentele
According to archaeologists at the LDA, the teeth were arranged like roof tiles across the pouch fronts. The bags were worn at the front of the body, hanging from wide belts also adorned with wolf teeth. Notably, some bags were found alongside the remains of infants or foetuses, suggesting these items may have served as luxurious baby carriers. Other finds include protective cloths such as 20-centimetre-wide shawls embroidered with sequins and lined with dog molars, evidence of sophisticated childcare practices among Neolithic elites.
These exquisite bags appeared in about 20% of the women’s graves examined, highlighting their likely association with a privileged social class. The time and resources required to create them indicate they were highly personal possessions reserved for elite individuals. One nearby burial in Nessa, just under two kilometres from Krauschwitz, contained a woman with a similar bag and foetal remains, further linking these pouches to maternal status among the elite.
The Krauschwitz site also yielded five Baalberge culture burial mounds dating back around 6,000 years. These mounds, formed from wooden hut remains covered with loess soil, served as prominent landmarks symbolising respect for the dead and communal power. Though no longer visible on the surface, the trenches and grave pits beneath still provide valuable insights into early Neolithic rituals and how ancient people used the landscape.
Interestingly, the later Corded Ware culture appears to have been influenced by these earlier mounds, choosing to place their own graves alongside them. Spanning from Alsace to Ukraine and southern Scandinavia to the Alps, the Corded Ware people had strict burial customs. The dead were laid facing south, with men buried on their right side and women on their left, accompanied by grave goods that reflected gender and social standing. Men’s graves often contained stone axes, while women’s held ceramic vessels, jewellery, and these distinctive tooth-decorated pouches.
The graves containing these ornate pouches are being carefully removed in large soil blocks and will undergo detailed study at the LDA laboratories. Excavations at Krauschwitz are set to continue through July, after which construction on the SuedOstLink power line will begin.
This remarkable find not only enriches our understanding of Neolithic burial rites but also highlights the complex social and maternal roles within ancient European communities.