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The elk from Tåderup

An exhausted and injured elk bull sank to the bottom of a lake at Tåderup on Falster 8700 years ago. Its skeleton was found in a peat bog in 1922. Between the bones lay a broken bone point, which may have been used in the hunt. A large-toothed harpoon was later found in the same peat bog.

The elk from Tåderup
The elk from Tåderup
The elk from Tåderup
The elk was found near Tåderup on the island of Falster.
The elk from Tåderup
Several types of tools and weapon were made from the large animals’ antlers and bones. Hunting was so intensive that the species became extinct on Zealand 8500 years ago. However, the elk continued to play an important role in the mythology of the hunters. Beads of elk teeth and tools made from elk antlers were valuable objects of exchange. Above: axe made of elk antler from Åmosen, western Zealand, and ornamented spearhead made of elk bone from Skellingsted Bro near Holbæk.