Stone Age hunter burials

There were many different methods of burying the dead in the Mesolithic period. At Gøngehusvej at Vedbæk inhumated and cremated bodies were buried in both single and double-graves. There were children’s graves and a dog’s grave.

A newborn baby was buried on a wooden plate. Around the child were traces of ochre. The grave had lain open so that the small child could be gazed down upon. Death was an ever-present element of life in the Stone Age. This can explain why Stone Age burials are sometimes found at settlements. The hunter-gatherers of the Stone Age could be buried with rich grave goods or none at all. Scattered finds of human bones in waste dumps from the Mesolithic period show that not everyone received a proper burial.