World's Oldest Purse Found—Studded With a Hundred Dog Teeth?

"It seems to have been very fashionable at the time."


Embedded in dirt, dog teeth may have studded an ancient purse, whose textile has disintegrated. Photograph courtesy Klaus Bentele, LDA Halle

The world's oldest purse may have been found in Germany—and its owner apparently had a sharp sense of Stone Age style.
Excavators at a site near Leipzig (map) uncovered more than a hundred dog teeth arranged close together in a grave dated to between 2,500 and 2,200 B.C.

According to archaeologist Susanne Friederich, the teeth were likely decorations for the outer flap of a handbag.

"Over the years the leather or fabric disappeared, and all that's left is the teeth. They're all pointing in the same direction, so it looks a lot like a modern handbag flap," said Friederich, of the Sachsen-Anhalt State Archaeology and Preservation Office.

The dog teeth were found during excavations of the 250-acre (100-hectare) Profen (map) site, which is slated to become an open-pit coal mine in 2015.

So far the project has uncovered evidence of Stone and Bronze Age settlements, including more than 300 graves, hundreds of stone tools, spear points, ceramic vessels, bone buttons, and an amber necklace.

Thousands of finds from later periods—including the grave of a woman buried with a pound (half a kilogram) of gold jewelry around 50 B.C.—have also turned up.

Even among such a rich haul, the purse is something special, according to Friederich, who managed the excavation project. "It's the first time we can show direct evidence of a bag like this."... National Geographic

Actualización 06-07-12. Hallan el bolso de mano más antiguo del mundo (decorado con dientes de perro)
La bolsa más antigua del mundo podría haber sido encontrada en Alemania, y su propietario, al parecer, tenía un agudo sentido del estilo de la Edad de Piedra.


Arqueólogos trabajando en un enclave cerca de Leipzig han descubierto más de un centenar de dientes de perro dispuestos muy juntos en una tumba fechada entre 2.500 y 2.200 a.C.

Según la arqueóloga Susanne Friederich (izquierda), los dientes eran, probablemente, una decoración de la solapa exterior de un bolso de mano.
"Con los años el cuero o tejido desapareció, y lo único que queda son los dientes. Todos están apuntando en la misma dirección, por lo que se parece mucho a la solapa de un bolso de mano moderno", dijo Friedrich, de la Oficina de Preservación y Arqueología del Estado de Sajonia-Anhalt...