An engraved reindeer antler has revealed that ancient European hunter-gatherer groups traded 'spiritual gifts' over hundreds of miles.

Scientists claim that a 12,000-year-old antler found at a site in central Poland came from reindeer native to Scandinavia.

They suggest the 30 cm (12 inch) antler was carried at least 1,000 miles (1,600 km) by early hunter gatherers in Finland and used in a gift swap between distant tribes.

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The 30 cm (12") antler (pictured), which the researchers describe as a baton perce or 'perforated baton', is an ornament engraved with a string of strange triangular patterns and a large hole at one end

WHAT WAS THE ANTLER USED FOR? The antler is an ornament engraved with a string of triangular patterns and a large hole at one end. The researchers say it was carved with 'exceptional accuracy' using a dull, concave blade, while the hole was drilled through the bone using a separate tool. Experts are still unsure what the antler tool could have been used for. It could have been a ritual object, a straightener of spear points or harpoons, simple mattocks or tools used to fixing ropes in huts. Advertisement

Exchange of gifts was common in prehistoric communities and was often a compulsory ritual in meetings between European tribes.

Study lead author Dr Grzegorz Osipowicz from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland, told MailOnline: 'The process of these gift exchanges was unlikely a simple exchange of products.

'It is believed they were sanctioned by a number of principles that strongly link the individuals or groups on a social and often spiritual level.'

The swaps helped groups form trusting, spiritual bonds and also brought practical gains in the swapping of ideas.

But the researchers say gift exchanges over these distances were extremely rare.

The meet up was most likely part of a one-time swap between groups, rather than an organised meet, the researchers said.

The Scandinavian group could have been travelling long distances as part of a rite-of-passage journey, the scientists said.

The exact route the Scandinavian group took is not known.

Experts suggest they could have travelled south through eastern Europe, a journey of roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km), or north through what is now Sweden.

This trip would have meant the tribe travelled around 1,650 miles (2,700km) to their destination.

Experts suggest the Scandinavian group could have travelled south through eastern Europe, a journey of roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km), or north through what is now Sweden. This trip would have meant the group travelled around 1,650 miles (2,700km) to their destination

The antler ornament, which is described as a bâtons percé or 'perforated baton', is engraved with a string of triangular patterns, and a large hole at one end.

The researchers say it was carved with 'exceptional accuracy' using a dull, concave blade, while the hole was drilled through the bone using a separate tool.

Dr Osipowicz told MailOnline: 'The function of bâtons percé its still not clear.

'Many hypotheses have been put forward in this regard, starting with function connected with ritual sphere, through straighteners of points and harpoons, simple mattocks or tools used to fixing ropes in huts.'

Researchers carbon dated the antler ornament (artist's impression) and analysed its DNA. They found it came from a species of reindeer that lived around western Finland's North Karelia region during the early Holocene period some 12,000 years ago

The antler was found in 2013 in the small village of Gołębiewo, Poland, during the excavation of a fish pond.

Researchers carbon dated the antler ornament and analysed its DNA.

They found it came from a species of reindeer that lived around western Finland's North Karelia region during the early Holocene period some 12,000 years ago.

This makes the bone among the oldest reindeer remains ever found in Europe.

WHERE DID IT COME FROM? The antler was found in 2013 in the small village of Gołębiewo, Poland, during the excavation of a fish pond. Researchers carbon dated the antler ornament and analysed its DNA. They found it came from a species of reindeer that lived around western Finland's North Karelia region during the early Holocene period some 12,000 years ago. This makes the bone among the oldest reindeer remains ever found in Europe. The researchers say their results point to contact and gift swapping between north-eastern Scandinavian and central Polish Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Advertisement

The researchers say their results point to contact and gift swapping between north-eastern Scandinavian and central Polish Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.

They note that the northern tribe may not have travelled the full distance, instead meeting with the southern group somewhere in the middle before each returned to their respective homelands.

Dr Osipowicz said: 'The route taken for transporting the Rangifer tarandus antler from nearby North Karelia to Central Poland, and the motive for transporting it, remain impossible to determine conclusively.

'However, the obtained results are the first direct evidence for the flow of goods between hunter-gatherer groups in the Early Holocene at such a great distance.'