Oops! Ancient Bronze Age shaman long assumed to be a man was actually a woman, DNA reveals

Various stones, bones and tools on display behind glass case.

The "Upton Lovell Shaman" burial included an elaborate metalworking tool kit: stone axes, flint tools, a scribe for marking metal, and a dark touchstone used to test the purity of gold and other metals.

(Image credit: Wiltshire Museum)

Olivia Maule is a science journalist whose beats include space, biotechnology and the environment. She holds a B.A. in biology and a B.S. in anthropology from the University of Florida and completed a master's degree in science communication at U.C. Santa Cruz. A 2025 AAAS Mass Media Fellow, she wrote stories and produced videos during a summer at El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico's largest newspaper, and has written for Eos, Mongabay, Science magazine and Stanford Report. Olivia is a native Spanish and English speaker.

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Oops! Ancient Bronze Age shaman long assumed to be a man was actually a woman, DNA reveals

Oops! Ancient Bronze Age shaman long assumed to be a man was actually a woman, DNA reveals

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