A small object found in Devon in the 1800s has taken on new meaning after researchers realised what it really is: a pendant made from a seal’s tooth, worn by a human living more than 15,000 years ago.
The piece was originally uncovered during excavations at Kents Cavern, a site long known for its importance in understanding early human history. At the time, it was catalogued but never fully understood. For years, experts thought the tooth came from a land animal such as a badger or wolf.
A closer look has now changed that. The tooth belonged to a grey seal, an animal that would have lived along the coast. That detail matters because, during the Ice Age, the cave sat over 100 kilometres inland. The find raises questions about how the object travelled so far—whether carried by people moving across the landscape or passed between groups through exchange.
The pendant itself shows clear signs of careful work. Whoever made it first removed the tooth from the seal’s jaw, likely by breaking it open. They then shaped it by grinding the root down before drilling a hole through it using a sharp flint tool. The hole allowed it to be threaded onto a cord and worn.
Over time, the pendant became smooth, its edges softened by repeated use. The hole also widened slightly, suggesting it was worn often, not kept aside. This was not a throwaway item. It likely had meaning for the person who owned it.
Researchers think objects like this may have signalled identity or group belonging. A seal tooth, in particular, could hint at familiarity with coastal environments, even if the wearer was far inland at the time.
Finds of this kind are rare. Only a handful of similar pendants from the same period have been recorded in Europe. That scarcity adds weight to the idea that such items held value beyond decoration.
Kents Cavern has been used by humans for tens of thousands of years, including both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. By the time this pendant was lost, it was modern humans who occupied the site. Its condition suggests it may simply have been dropped and never recovered.
Though small, the object adds another piece to the picture of how people lived, moved and expressed themselves at the end of the last Ice Age.
Sources : Natural History Museum
