A decorated bag used to carry something particular, or for a special occasion such as a night on the town, is often used to signal wealth and status. This seems to have been true as well for members of the Corded Ware culture, which spread throughout Europe in the third millennium b.c. During installation of a power line in the eastern German town of Krauschwitz, archaeologists discovered 15 Corded Ware burials of men and women interred with distinct sorts of artifacts. “People in this period differentiated men from women by including certain types of objects, such as axes for men and jewelry for women, in their graves,” says archaeologist Oliver Dietrich of the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt.
Three women were found alongside pierced dog teeth, some of which are thought to have once decorated leather or fabric bags. Such bags, which may have been used as baby carriers, have only been found in elite women’s graves. According to Dietrich, dogs may have been bred specifically to produce teeth suitable for use as decoration or jewelry. “Due to the effort required to procure the dog teeth and make the pouches, as well as their visual effect, they are most likely markers of high social status,” he says. Dogs seem to have been extremely significant to people of the Corded Ware culture. Archaeologists have found human burials including dogs, as well as dogs buried on their own, perhaps as sacrifices. “Burials and sacrifices strongly speak in favor of dogs’ important role in the belief system of the Corded Ware culture and also of emotional bonds with the animals,” says Dietrich. “You only sacrifice things that are important to you.”
