The burial of Bad Dürrenberg, Central Germany: osteopathology and osteoarchaeology of a Late Mesolithic shaman's grave

The isolated burial of Bad Durrenberg is one of the richest Mesolithic graves in Europe. Although it was excavated in the 1930s, new spectacular anthropological and archaeological evidence has emerged during a recent re-study. Firstly, we present here the results of an anthropological re-evaluation of certain features of the skull base and the foramen magnum. Our work has clearly established that the observable features are caused by an anatomical variation that also includes an atlar anomaly. This developmental variation possibly caused various neuropathological symptoms. The Bad Durrenberg burial consequently represents a unique case of the possible interpretation of abnormal behaviours i…