Marine mammals and body ornaments in the Upper Palaeolithic: a rare example of a seal tooth pendant from Kents Cavern, Devon, U.K.

Personal ornaments, such as beads and pendants, played a crucial role in Upper Palaeolithic societies, representing social status, cultural identity, and individual expression. This study describes an intensively worked, perforated, and polished tooth of a grey seal discovered during William Pengelly's 1867 excavation at Kents Cavern, UK, a unique find within the British context but with parallels to similar items found at Upper Palaeolithic sites in France and Spain. Our analysis represents the first investigation of an Upper Palaeolithic seal tooth pendant, integrating zooarchaeological methods with 3D and CT imaging techniques. This innovative approach sheds light on the manufacturing process, use, and post-depositional history of this artefact. Wear traces suggest the pendant was suspended from a cord and worn for an extended period. Today, Kents Cavern overlooks the English Channel; however, during the glacially lowered sea-levels of the Late Upper Palaeolithic, seal colonies may have been located at least 125 km southwest. The presence of ‘exotic’ marine mammal artefacts at Magdalenian inland sites raises questions about whether they were exchanged between groups through networks or acquired from coastal regions and transported to inland sites via long-distance expeditions or seasonal migrations. • First analysis of a perforated grey seal tooth pendant from Kents Cavern, UK. • Combines zooarchaeology with 3D and CT imaging to study artefact manufacture and use. • Wear patterns indicate prolonged use as a suspended ornament. • The perforated tooth is a rare example of marine mammal material in inland Upper Palaeolithic Britain. • Findings support evidence from continental Europe for long-distance movement or exchange of coastal resources.