An ornamented 'pierced baton' recently found in Central Poland may provide evidence of exchange between Mesolithic communities, according to a study by Grzegorz Osipowicz from Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland, and colleagues.
     Researchers conducted DNA and stable isotope analyses to determine the antler source species and its geographic origin, revealing it to be from a reindeer species with a range limited to northern Scandinavia and north-western Russia during the Early-Holocene. This may suggest that the artefact was transported from North Karelia to Central Poland. The authors suggest this is possibly the first direct evidence for exchange between hunter-gatherer groups in the Early Holocene over such a distance.

Edited from EurekAlert!, PLOS One (4 October 2017)