11,000-year-old Spiritualized Deer Masks Whisper Tales Of A Forgotten World

Deer skulls with carved eyeholes dating to 11,000 years ago have been discovered at Star Carr Mesolithic archaeological site about five miles (8.0 km) south of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England.

Often referred to as the most important Mesolithic site in Great Britain, Star Carr was occupied during the early Mesolithic archaeological period and the site was preserved because Lake Flixton, where the skulls were discovered, was filled in with peat; which fortunately prevented the organic materials from oxidizing and rotting.

Three of the 33 deer skull head-pieces, as well as tools, weapons, and jewelry are currently on display in the Li Ka Shing Gallery at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Downing Street, Cambridge. The exhibition is called “A Survival Story – Prehistoric Life at Star Carr” and the exhibition curator Dr. Jody Joy told reporters at Haaretz, “This was a time before farming, before pottery, before metalworking – but the people who made their homes there returned to the same place for hundreds of years.”