Archaeologists on the Swedish island of Lilla Karlsö off the coast of Gotland have discovered the remains of a young pregnant woman and a fetus that may be up to 9,500 years old. Sweden’s SVT television channel reported on the unique find, UNN writes.
Details
The remains were discovered in a cave at a depth of about five meters during excavations that began in the summer of 2023. The bones are preliminarily estimated to be 8,000–9,500 years old; however, the exact period when the woman and fetus lived will be established using radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA analysis.
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Archaeologist Alexander Rosen Sjöstrand noted that such a find is extremely rare.
A fetus is exceptionally rare. There are few such well-preserved finds anywhere in the world
According to his preliminary assessment, this fetus may be the second-oldest known in the world. Researchers estimate that the woman was 17–19 years old, while the fetus was approximately 32–34 weeks old.
The mystery of the woman's death
Archaeologists suggest that the woman may have died from a pregnancy-related illness or during childbirth. One possibility is that, because of her young age, her pelvis may not have been sufficiently developed for childbirth.
She was quite young. It is unknown whether her pelvis was fully developed, so it is possible that the baby could not get out, and she then died from complications
The woman was probably one of the first inhabitants of Lilla Karlsö. After the glacier retreated about 10,000 years ago, seal hunters, fishermen, and gatherers began arriving on Gotland.
The cave excavations are being carried out as part of an archaeological project at Uppsala University. During the research, archaeologists systematically passed through layers from various historical periods—from the 14th century to the Viking Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age—and at a depth of about five meters reached a Stone Age layer.