antler headdress 2 - the prequel

So antler frontlets date back to the Mesolithic era.  Evidence of humans wearing them as costuming is seen in both archaeological digs and in cave paintings.

Backside of antler frontlet in British Museum collection

This blogger talks about the shamanistic uses of the headdress during the Mesolithic period.

The Sorcerer drawn by Abbé Breuil's from Les Troise Freres cave

This cool group of British history enthusiasts did a few workshops (click the link to see their pics) teaching people to make their own headdresses based on the artifacts found at the Star Carr site in Britain. They used this crafting session to educated people on Mesolithic ritual involving "shamanic disguise"

Siberian Tungus Shaman, 1785 (British Museum)

Antler Frontlets have been found at multiple archaeological sites across Europe (2 in Germany & 1 in England) and artifacts from Star Carr can be seen at the British Museum.  It is notable that they were often thinned out to make them lighter in most artifacts.
 

interpretation of a Shaman headdress from the grave found in Bad Dürrenberg in the 1930's created by "ashtarcommandcrew"

Further reading:

Conneller, C. 2004 'Becoming deer: corporeal transformations at Star Carr', Archaeological Dialogues , Vol.11(1), 37-56, 1478-2294

Cambridge Archaeology Project at Star Carr

British Museum artifacts 

Check out my earlier blog about this project from a fashion side... 

UPDATE:
(video) Time Team Episode S20E14 special - Britain's Stone Age Tsunami (2013)