Personal ornaments associated to the Braña-Arintero (Spain) and Ofnet (Germany) burials: hunting strategies, social structure, and exchange networks of the last European hunter-gatherers

We submit the personal ornaments associated to two contemporary Mesolithic burials (Brana-Arintero Cantabria North of Spain and Ofnet, South of Germany) to a taphonomic, archaeozoologial, technological, morphometric, and functional analysis with the aim of documenting variability in raw material choice and procurement, beads manufacture, assemblage, display on the body, length of utilisation, and mortuary practices. Implications of these results for our understanding of late Mesolithic hunting strategies and social systems are discussed in detail. Braña-Arintero 2 individual is associated to 24 perforated red deer canines. Analysis of pendants from Braña-Arintero reveals the exclusive use of male canines, the preference for adult, and, with a single exception, the used of unpaired teeth. Over-representation of unpaired teeth is interpreted as reflecting acquisition over a long time span through an exchange network. Technological analysis indicates that all the teeth were perforated by thinning the root by scraping and then piercing by the rotation of a lithic point. Recorded variations in the applied motions suggest different craftsmen were involved in the process. Wear pattern indicates the canines were embroidered on a cloth and worn for a long period of time. The 33 human heads found at Ofnet are associated to 215 perforated red deer canines and 4250 marine shells that are going to be analysed with the same methods applied to Braña-Arintero.