Bronze Tooth Pendants from the Late Iron Age: Between Real and Fictional Zooarchaeology

This paper discusses bronze pendants resembling animal canines and commonly interpreted as replicas of bear canine pendants. The traditional identification of these pendants to be representing bear canines is questioned, as bronze pendants do not follow the identifiable features of organic bear canines. Alternative interpretations and other species, like canids (dogs and wolves) or pigs, are suggested as prototypes for bronze pendants. Finally, it is also speculated that bronze pendants can represent fangs of fantastic creatures like dragons or serpents and, thus, be symbols of some ruling families.