Archaeologists in Jarvensuo, Finland have discovered a 4,400-year-old neolithic wooden staff carved like a life-size snake. The staff may have been used in rituals by a Stone Age shaman:
The figurine from Järvensuo certainly looks like a real snake. Its slender body is formed by two sinuously carved bends that continue to a tapered tail. The flat, angular head with its open mouth is especially realistic. Koivisto and Lahelma suggest it resembles a grass snake or European adder in the act of slithering or swimming away.
via NBC News
Images: Satu Koiviato