Misteriosi circoli di ossa di mammut

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Kostenki 14 in 2001, north wall exposure, east end, showing lower Unit 2.

Photo: Geoarchaeology of the Kostenki– Borshchevo Sites, Don River Valley, Russia.
Vance T. Holliday et al.
Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, Vol. 22, No. 2, 181–228 (2007)

My thanks to Dr Vance Holliday, Professor of Anthropology & Geosciences, University of Arizona, for access to this resource.
 

 

Human skull with alleged Negroid features from Kostenki 14 (Markina Gora)

 

Kostenki 14 (Markina Gora) at the approximate level of the discovery of the human (at horizon III) whose bust has been created by Professor M.M.Gerasimov, shown right. This is the skull with alleged Negroid or east african features.
 

 

• There was only one find at this horizon, a male aged 20 - 25 years.
• Skull and postcranial skeleton both well preserved.
• All permanent teeth in place and slightly worn. Third molars less worn than others.
• All cranial sutures open.
• Length of right femur 427 mm.
• Height of individual estimated to have been 160 cm.

Kostenki 14 human reconstruction by Professor M.M.Gerasimov

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski
Source: Facsimile, display, Kostenki Museum

 

Дальнейшая расчистка погребения выявила практически полностью. сохранившийся скелет человека похороненного в позе эмбриона с зажатым пальцем руки между зубами.

Further cleaning of the burial revealed the almost completely preserved skeleton of a man buried in the fetal position with a thumb clamped between his teeth.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski 2014
Source: Kostenki Museum

 

Расчисткой этой фантастической находки собственноручно занимался
Михаил Михайлович Герасимов (1907-1970),
знаменитый археолог, антрополог, сделавший реконструкции множества
исторических личностей в виде их скульптурных портрето.

Mikhail Gerasimov (1907-1970) was always personally involved in cleaning up his fantastic finds.

He was a famous archaeologist as well as an anthropologist, who reconstructed his discoveries in the form of sculptural portraits.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski 2011
Source: Kostenki Museum

 

 

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The last stage of cleaning - then the skull was photographed, from which MM Gerasimov later made a sculptural reconstruction. The work surprised everyone even more than the actual burial - it was not a European, but a southern Negroid.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski 2011
Source: Kostenki Museum

 

Недалеко от строящегося музея в 1970 году А.Н. Рогачевым было обнаружено
и частично вскрыто еще одно древнее жилище, очень похожее на первое,
сохраненное в музее.

Not far from the museum being constructed in 1970, AN Rogachev discovered and partially uncovered another ancient dwelling, very similar to the one preserved at the museum.

Early Upper Paleolithic Man from Markina Gora (Kostenki XIV)

M.M. Gerasimov with A.N. Rogachev (head of expedition) at Kostenki XIV (Markina Gora).

An excellently preserved skeleton of a male aged 20-25 was discovered by A.N. Rogachev in 1954 in a shallow oval grave at the Upper Paleolithic site of Markina Gora (Kostenki XIV) on the Don, Voronezh Region. The estimated age of the burial is 32 thousand years.
 

M.M. Gerasimov taking the human skull out of the grave at Kostenki XIV (Markina Gora).

Judging by a strongly flexed position of the skeleton and by traces of red paint on the bones, the body had been tightly wrapped or tied up and strewn with ocher. No burial goods were present, but the associated cultural layer contained Early Upper Paleolithic (Aurignacian) tools – blades, scrapers, burins, etc. – as well as animal bones (mainly those of wild horses).

 

M.M. Gerasimov with his colleagues in archeology during the excavations at Kostenki XIV (Markina Gora) in the 1950s.

The Markina Gora skeleton was examined by G.F. Debetz, who estimated the individual’s age at 20-25. The man was rather low-statured (about 160 cm). The morphology of his skeleton is generally quite modern. Certain cranial features, including very narrow braincase, low and narrow face, marked prognathism (anterior protrusion of the midface), and very wide nose, are typical of tropical populations. The trait combination links the cranium with those of Papuans and Melanesians.

Certain other Upper Paleolithic crania from Europe, too, display “tropical” features. Bodily proportions of Early Upper Paleolithic people reveal southern characteristics as well. This also concerns the arm proportions of the Markina Gora individual, whose forearm was relatively long compared to the shoulder.

The meaning of those facts is yet unclear. Modern geographic human groups (so called “races”) had not completely formed by the Upper Paleolithic, and some of their characteristics may have incidentally appeared in various parts of the world. On the other hand, tropical features may indicate that anatomically modern humans had migrated to Europe from the south, specifically from Africa. Genetic data favor such possibility.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that the supposedly Upper Paleolithic age of the burial has not been proven by absolute (radiocarbon) dating methods. The burial may actually be rather recent and unrelated to the enclosing cultural layer. If so, the appearance of the Markina Gora individual is even more difficult to explain.

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M.M. Gerasimov, like G.F. Debetz, believed that people of such appearance or their direct ancestors had actually migrated to Europe in the early Upper Paleolithic from areas lying far south. Therefore he endowed the reconstructed individual with tropical characteristics including curly hair. The future will hopefully show whether or not this “artistic liberty” of the scientist and sculptor was warranted.
 

 

Well known archaeologist Andrey Alekseevich Velichko gives a lecture on the actual site of Kostenki 14.

The holes in the walls of the excavation have been made to take samples for analysis.

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Excavations at Kostenki 14 in 2003 (looking at the north wall of the excavations and stratigraphic profile).

The archaeological site of Kostenki is a actually a stratified series of sites deeply buried within the alluvial deposits of a steep ravine that empties into the Don River in central Russia. The Kostenki site has been known for quite a while (it is best known for the recovery of Venus figurines from its Gravettian levels), and its uniqueness has not gone unnoticed.

The occupations at Kostenki include several Late Early Upper Paleolithic levels, dated ca 40 000 to 30 000 calibrated years ago. Below these levels is a layer of volcanic ash, associated with the volcanic eruptions of the Phlegrean Fields of Italy (aka Campanian Ignimbrite), which are thought to have erupted between about 38 000 and 40 000 years ago. Within and below the ash level (called the CI Tephra) is what archaeologists are calling "Aurignacian Dufour," containing

numerous small bladelets and related to similar sites in western Europe.

Typically, the Aurignacian is the oldest component associated with modern humans at archaeological sites in Europe, underlain by Mousterian-like deposits representing Neanderthals. At Kostenki, a previously unidentified assemblage, exhibiting a sophisticated tool kit of prismatic blades, burins, bone antler, and ivory artifacts, and small perforated shell ornaments underlies the CI Tephra and Aurignacian Dufour assemblage. That the location includes the use of traps to catch small mammals such as hares, reinforces the view that stone age humans used technology and innovation to expand into new areas.

 

Humans or Neanderthals?
 

Kostenki 14 excavations in 2002.

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No skeletal remains have been found to date in these levels at Kostenki, except for isolated teeth, which appear to be modern human. Modern humans are identified as the occupants of these levels primarily on the basis of the artifacts, which include forms completely unknown in neandertal sites.

At the moment, the assemblages in the lowest levels at Kostenki do not have a parallel - they are generically Upper Paleolithic but without close analogue - and researchers are convinced that Kostenki does in fact represent one of the earliest outposts by early modern humans outside of Africa.
 

 

Art of the Gorocovskaya cultures

Artefacts recovered from Kostenki 14 level II. They consist of what look like bone or mammoth ivory zoomorphic forms, hoes, spades, handles and possibly a digging stick.

Kostenki 15 - Kostenki XV- Gordocovskaja site

At Kostenki XV (Gordocovskaja site) the ochred burial of a child of about six years was found. With this burial were flint and bone tools, and over 150 drilled teeth of the Arctic Fox.

Kostenki 15: Plan of excavated units (upper) and generalised stratigraphic profile (lower), adapted fromRogachev (1957)

Kostenki 15 (also known as Gorodtsovskaya) is located on the second terrace level near the mouth of Aleksandrovka Ravine. It represents a rare example of a single-component Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) locality that was not discovered by excavating below a younger Upper Paleolithic horizon. The site was found in 1951 during construction of a small reservoir and excavated by Rogachev during the following year; much of the site apparently was destroyed by spring flooding prior to excavation. A total of 70 m2 was exposed in 1952 and it

appears that little of the site now remains.

Two radiocarbon dates on bone yielded calibrated estimates of c. 30 000 cal BP. A large quantity of horse bones comprising the vast majority of bones was excavated from Kostenki 15. Many were concentrated in and near a shallow 'bowl-shaped' depression measuring 70 cm in diameter and up to 20 cm below the level of the occupation layer. A total of 1501 bones and teeth excavated in 1952 were assigned to the broad-toed horse (Equus latipes). Other taxa included bison, hare (Lepus tanaiticus), wolf (Canis lupus), arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), mammoth (M. primigenius), and red deer (C. elaphus).

Source: Hoffeker et al. (2010)

 

Topography of Aleksandrovka Ravine and setting of K 15. Arrows illustrate hypothesised route of horses driven up into the ravine

from the main valley.

At Kostenki, groups of horses could have been driven up into the ravine systems from the main valley of the Don River (see Fig.11), or alternatively, driven down off the steep slope of the eastern margin of the Central Russian Upland. In either case, some form of corral or artificial barrier may have been necessary to channel the horses into the area where they were killed.

Source: Hoffeker et al. (2010)

 

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Kostenki 17 - Kostenki XVII

Excavation of Kostenki 17/I in 1953.

Photo: Institute for the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences (IIMK RAN), archive reference О.1958e67
Proximal Source: Dinnis et al. (2018)

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The main excavations at Kostenki 17 were undertaken by P.I. Boriskovskii in 1953 and 1955. Boriskovskii discovered two archaeological layers: the stratigraphically higher Layer I, positioned in the UHB; and the underlying and archaeologically richer Layer II, found in the top of the LHB, ~6 m below the modern-day surface.

Layer II was stratigraphically separated from Layer I by ~3 m of archaeologically sterile deposits. Within these sterile deposits, roughly halfway between Layers I and II, was a layer containing lenses of volcanic ash. Boriskovskii excavated Layer II over an area of 60 m2. Small areas of the archaeological layer or contemporary deposits have been excavated since then, most recently in 2017e2018 by one of us. However, Boriskovskii's collection still constitutes ~90% of the archaeological material excavated from this layer.

Finds in Layer II were generally limited to a gently sloping 20-30 cm thick horizon. Boriskovskii and Velichko both considered the layer's contents to be mostly in situ, and subject to only minor downslope redeposition. The

layer's lithic assemblage appeared unrolled and unweathered, and contained very small chips as well as larger pieces. In some places the layer was stained with red ochre, and concentrations of charcoal and ash in the NE and SW corners were interpreted as remnants of two hearths >1 m in diameter, around which lay concentrations of archaeological material.

In the central part of the trench were horse vertebrae and limb bones in anatomical position. Boriskovskii recovered a large lithic assemblage of ~10 000 pieces, as well as a modest osseous tool assemblage of two awls made from arctic fox (or hare) ulnae and several fragmentary bone/ivory objects. The abundance of archaeological material within a relatively small excavated area led Boriskovskii to interpret the layer as evidence for a long-term settlement.

Given the assemblage's size it may well represent a palimpsest of multiple phases of activity. Boriskovskii also found pendants made from fossil shells, carved stone and belemnites, along with a group of 37 fox canines perforated

by rotary biconical drilling. The faunal assemblage comprised wolf, mammoth, horse, reindeer, bison and wolverine, with arctic fox represented by 37 pendants. A single human molar found in the layer was tentatively attributed to Homo sapiens, but it has never been the subject of complete study and for some researchers it is undiagnostic.
 

Text above: Dinnis et al. (2018)
 

Calibrated ages for new radiocarbon dates from Kostenki 17/II (HYP dates only), Kostenki 14/IVw and Kostenki 14/LVA.

Kostenki 18 - Kostenki XVIII

Figure 14: Human skull from Kostenki XVIII
Figure 15: Human skull from Markina Gora, Horizon 3.

Photo: Klein, "Man and Culture in the Late Pleistocene", 1969

 

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Kostenki 21

 

The six identified complexes at Kostenki 21/III can be divided into two groups according to several criteria: lithic techno-typology, the dimensions and planigraphy of the complexes, faunal remains and flint patination. There is a clear mutual exclusion between the types of backed points found in the northern and southern groups (Anosovka points only in the former, small shouldered points only in the latter) which has been previously noted and is confirmed by our work. The faunal assemblage from Kostënki 21/III provides some surprising insights into the behaviour of late MUP hunter–gatherer groups in Eastern Europe.

The remains from the southern complexes provide evidence for the systematic exploitation of hares and for hunting of mammoth, with a particular focus on juvenile mammoth. Canids were likely used for their skins. In the northern complexes, there seems to have been more emphasis on the hunting of adult mammoths, while the canid remains provide evidence for both skinning and consumption. Hare was absent or near-absent in the assemblage from the northern complexes.
Overall, however, a wider range of species is represented in the northern complexes than the southern. At both the northern and southern complexes, there is evidence for preferential transport of mammoth head and foot parts to the site. The canid remains at the site vary in size: one of those found in the southern complexes is “dog-like in size”. The range of ages of juvenile mammoths represented at the southern complexes suggests that activity took place at this part of the site during both spring/early summer and autumn/ early winter. In the northern complexes, a more restricted period of human presence is attested: spring/early summer only.

Text above: Reynolds et al. (2019)

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Despite strong similarities, the cultural layer III of Kostienki 21 shows the existence of another cultural unity of the original Kostienki Gravettian. The specific features cover all elements of material culture: the lithic assemblage and bone, art, adornment.

For the stone industry, first, the proportions of notched points are the same as those observed in the western Gravettian, as well as the importance of the Gravettian notched points east and ends at the back of the type Federmesser.

The bone industry is characterised by particular types of tools whose function is unknown. Mobile art is represented by engravings of

animals on stone plaques, unique to Eastern Europe, but well known in the West.

The dates obtained for this layer are 22 270 ± 150 and 21 260 ± 340.

Photo and text: Sinitsyn (2007)
 

 

 

Kostenki 21 was discovered in 1956 by N. D. Praslov, who led excavations there in 1956–1961, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1971–1972 and 1976–81, as well as further excavations during the 1980s. The twentieth century excavations extended for circa 160 m along the river bank, and more than 510 m² was excavated in total by the early 1980s. Due to active erosion by the Don, the excavations were carried out as rescue excavations. Further limited rescue excavations were carried out in 2013–2016, led by A. A. Bessudnov. The richest and most extensive archaeological layer is the lowermost layer, now known as layer III, which was the first to be recognised. Around 35 000 – 36 000 lithic artefacts were attributed to this layer during the twentieth-century excavations of the site.

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Photograph of the 1958 excavations at Kostenki 21, showing the proximity of the excavated area to the Don.

Photo courtesy of the Archive of IHMC RAS, no. O-2134-59

Photo and text: Reynolds et al. (2019)
 

 

Section drawings for Kostenki 21.

a Schematic drawing of section based on pre-1982 excavations.
b Drawing of 2016 section.
c Drawing of 2014 section.

Cultural layer numbers given in Roman numerals. All to same scale. Drawings have been

vertically aligned according to approximate locations of cultural layers, not relative depths of sections.

Photo and text: Reynolds et al. (2019)

 

Drawings of lithic artefacts from Kostenki 21/III.

a–e Shouldered points from the southern complexes.

f–h Anosovka points from the northern complexes.



Photo and text: Reynolds et al. (2019)

 

Shouldered points from the southern complexes of Kostenki 21/III.

The shouldered points from layer III are made on small blades, with

backed, shouldered stems. Previous work has suggested that they constitute a unique series compared to shouldered points from other late Gravettian sites. They are clearly different, in their size, morphology, and technology of production, from the overall profile of those found at the sites of the Kostenki–Avdeevo Culture (Kostenkian/Eastern Gravettian sensu stricto), including Kostenki 1/I, Avdeevo and Zaraisk, and further west at sites of the 'shouldered-point horizon'/'Kostenki-Willendorfian', such as Kraków-Spadzista. They are also very different from the backed points found at Khotylevo 2.

Photo: N. Reynolds
Photo and text: Reynolds et al. (2019)

 

Anosovka points from northern complexes of Kostenki 21/III

The Anosovka points found at the site are small, wide-based points with one backed edge. They have been compared to Azilian and Federmesser points.

 

To be identified as an Anosovka point for the purposes of our study, the artefact had to be small (less than 5 cm long), have a clear point formed by the convergence of one backed straight or convex edge and the unbacked edge of the blank and have a wide base.

Photo: N. Reynolds
Photo and text: Reynolds et al. (2019)

The consensus on Kostenki 21/III has favoured an interpretation where all parts of the layer were occupied synchronously, despite the well-described differences between the two groups of complexes. In Soviet archaeology, approaches to the spatial analyses of Palaeolithic sites were sophisticated, and this aspect of archaeology was emphasised in both excavation practice and archaeological theory.
 

Photographs of bone and ivory artefacts from Kostenki 21/III:

a: bone needle (complex 2)
b: deer canine pendant (complex 2)
c–f: osseous points (c, e, f complex 2; d northern complexes)

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Photo: N. Reynolds
Photo and text: Reynolds et al. (2019)

 

Ochre from Kostenki 21/III.

a, b: Complex 2.
😄 Complex 5

Photo: N. Reynolds
Photo and text: Reynolds et al. (2019)

 

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Borshevo II - Borshevo 2

Borshevo II contained three cultural layers, dated from the end of the late Palaeolithic through to the Mesolithic. In the top layer, the camp of a temporary settlement of horse hunters, mammoth bones were absent, but there were reindeer bones. The flint tools were of the microlith type, which could have been used for arrow heads.

Borshevo V - Borshevo 5

The large (upslope) block excavations at Borshchevo 5 exposing Units 2 and 3. Note the sondage next to the back wall. The bone bed exposed on the floor rests directly above the Y5 tephra (t). Above the sondage, a mix of silt and limestone gravel is apparent, filling a small gully. The effects of bioturbation are well expressed in the Chernozem in Unit 3.

Photo and Text: Geoarchaeology of the Kostenki– Borshchevo Sites, Don River Valley, Russia.
Vance T. Holliday et al.
Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, Vol. 22, No. 2, 181–228 (2007)

My thanks to Dr Vance Holliday, Professor of Anthropology & Geosciences, University of Arizona, for access to this resource.

 

 

This is the classic shouldered point, or point with tang, as it would have been used, with a handle. The tools are razor sharp, and very effective.

This recreation shows the handle being made of leather wrapped around the tang. Other methods would include the use of bone or antler as a handle.

Photo: http://baida.su/2010/07/progulka-na-20-000-let-nazad/
Source: Kostenki Museum.

 

The skill of the flint knappers was such that they could create

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Резцы

Burins (engravers).

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2008
Voronezh Museum

 

 

Stone tools from the Kostenki area.

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https://www.donsmaps.com/lioncamp.html

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Ciao @Brios. Ha qualche informazione in più su questi siti ? 

Grazie.

[VALTERI]

Sito molto importante, Kostenki, per l' Uomo attuale ed il suo lontano viaggio verso l' Europa .