Elks on the Loose

This paper presents two Danish examples from the Funnel Beaker Culture illustrating a practice of depositing antique elements – in this case elk bones. While faunal remains are a well-known aspect of complex Neolithic deposition practices, the scope and nuances of these depositional practices remain unclear, partly due to a general lack of 14C dates and detailed zooarchaeological analysis. One key outcome of an increased focus on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating is the identification of deposited antiques. Although the concept of antiques in archaeological contexts is not new, it has rarely been discussed in Neolithic contexts, despite its relevance to theories of social memory and mnemonic materiality. Recognizing the phenomenon of deposited antique animal remains requires both archaeological openness to the idea and sufficient 14C dating. The two examples discussed here – both involving Maglemosian Elk bones found together with Neolithic domesticated animals – were discovered in wetland contexts in North Zealand, Denmark. Together, they highlight the potential of direct AMS dating in revealing previously unrecognized practices of temporal reuse, as well as shedding new light on Neolithic engagements with time, materiality, and memory.