Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology in Szczecin, in north west Poland, found the meteorite fragment inside the caveman house by lake Swidwe in Western Pomerania during excavations.
Head of research for the Institute, Tadeusz Galinski, told local media: "The meteorite was brought to the shelter as a special object, they seem to have recognised it was not of this world.
"The thing became an object of belief, and maybe even shamanic magic. They may have realised it was different if it was spotted as it fell to earth, and would have been identified by the crater it made, and the heat it would have had from entering the earth's atmosphere.
"In addition, the side profile shape suggests various associations; the original finder millennia ago probably saw in it shapes of a mysterious world of spirits," he added.
He added that the fragment is "surprisingly heavy" and that the discovery was the first of its kind in archaeology where a primitive people was known to have worshipped a heavenly object.
Along with the meteorite, the researchers also found other objects associated with magic, including an amulet, bone spear tip with engraved ornament and a magic stick made of antler, decorated with geometric motifs.
The meteorite was discovered last year but it is only now that the researchers have been able to determine what it was used for.
Source: http://austriantimes.at/
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