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The Kostenki - Borshevo region on the Don River

Kostenki / Kostienki is not actually a single site but really an area on the right bank of the Don River in the regions of the villages of Kostenki and Borshevo, consisting of more than twenty site locations, all dating to the Paleolithic.

Click on the photos to see an enlarged version

View of the village of Kostenki from high ground above the settlement near the Don River, visible to the right of the houses. A distant loop of the Don may be seen in the background.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

The view 35 000 years ago in late summer would have been very similar, but there would have been many fewer trees (spruce, and the plants which typically accompany it, such as the lesser club moss or spikemoss Selaginella selaginoides, as well as larch, willow and aspen), and then only along the edge of the river as a gallery forest, and the trees would have been much smaller because of the harsher climatic conditions, equivalent to those prevailing now 10 degrees further north, at around 61° north. The river would have been smaller also, since there was less precipitation, and the viewpoint would have been only a few metres in altitude above the river. Springs and seeps, which are still present in the area today, emanated from the bedrock valley wall. Their presence may account for the unusually high concentration of Upper Paleolithic sites in this part of the central East European Plain.

A series of uplifts over the last 35 000 years created three terraces, raising the viewpoint nearly seventy metres above the river.

The villages of Kostenki and Borshevo are located in the Don Valley, roughly forty kilometres south of Voronezh. The western slope of the Don Valley in the vicinity of the villages and for some distance further south forms the eastern boundary of the Central Russian Upland, the eastern slope, the western boundary of the Tambov Lowland. The eastern part of the Central Russian Upland, in contrast to the Tambov Lowland, appears to have been undergoing continued uplift, and partly as a consequence, the Don Valley in the Kostenki - Borshevo region is markedly asymmetrical - the western slope is quite steep, the eastern one quite gentle.

(Klein, "Man and Culture in the Late Pleistocene", 1969)

(Thus the Don River flows down the fault line between the uplifted Central Russian Upland and the Tambov Lowland. This fortuitous circumstance means that there developed a geological method of preserving the evidence of habitation in this area. The uplift provided ravines and associated springs for water during winter, and also provided high ground above the river terraces which gradually covered the settlements by colluvial action, as well as successive uplifts of the land, so that successive settlements were separated first (vertically) by colluvial sediments and secondly by the uplift, leading to the settlements being separated by (horizontal) distance as well on the three main terraces.

Further, modern settlers found the area to be congenial, and sunk house foundations and cellars which uncovered the mammoth bones which first alerted people to the unusual nature of the area, and erosion of the ravines also provided access to evidence of previous settlements. However the houses are scattered widely over the area, and excavations of sites can be made without greatly inconveniencing the local population, as would be the case in a large town or city. There is a good road to the region from a major city not far away, but the road does not cross the area of interest, which is serviced by a network of minor, mostly dirt roads. The area is not under threat of flooding or other disturbance, and the area is politically stable, so long term careful explorations can be made.

A (dateable) fall of volcanic ash conveniently delineates the oldest sediments from the younger ones.

Archaeologists could hardly ask for more. - Don)

Spruce, clubmoss, larch, willow and aspen (shown here in order) were the major species in the area 30 000 years ago.

Photos: Wikipedia, Wikipedia, Wikipedia, http://herba.msu.ru/pictures/Dietrich/pages/616.htm, Wikipedia by Daniel Mayer.

Fig.6

Растительность Европейской части СССР в эпоху максимума валдайского похолодания (около 20 тысяч лет назад) Палеолит СССР. Составил Гричук (1973)

Vegetation of the European part of the USSR during a maximum of the Valdai cold snap (about 20 thousand years ago)

Photo: Paleolithic of the USSR. Grichuk (1973)

Границы распространения покровного оледенения.
Горные ледники.
Нунатаки.
Равнинные реки следниковым питанием.
речные русла по дну регрессивных бассейнов.
береговая линия новоэвксинской регрессии.
Территории для которых реконструкции растительного покрова не произведено
полярные пустыни
тундры низкогорий и альпийские луга.
преледниковое сочетание тундровых и степных траваянистых группировок с участием березового, соснового и лиственного редколесья.
Светлохвойные и темнохвойные горные леса.
перигляциальная лесостепь
южная перигляциальная лесостепь
перигляциальные степи

edge of the ice sheet.
mountain glaciers.
nunataks. A nunatak or nunataq is the exposed summit of a ridge, mountain, or peak not covered with ice or snow within an ice field or glacier. The term is typically used in areas where a permanent ice sheet is present. (Wikipedia)
edge of the lakes fed by the ice sheet.
river channels feeding lakes
coastal line of the Novoevksinskogo province (?) lakes.
areas for which the vegetative cover has not been determined
polar deserts
tundras and alpine meadows.
a combination of tundra and grassy steppe with the inclusion of birch, pine and deciduous light forest.
light conifers and wooded mountains.
forest-steppe
southern forest-steppe
steppes

Panorama looking eastwards, of the Don River. The photograph is taken from "Hill 190", showing the village of Borshevo on the left of the photograph. This point is about five kilometres south of Kostenki, with Kostenki upstream to the left of the hill in the panorama. The point from which it was taken may be seen on the google earth image above and on the roadmap further down this page, at the point where "190" is printed below the main Borshevo village area. This west bank (true right) of the Don Valley is composed of Cretaceous marl and sand that unconformably overlie Devonian clay.

The bridge to the right of the photo is not yet in service, and will be one of the few ways of getting across the Don River in this area.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006 and Google Earth

From: http://www.trinitas.ru/rus/doc/0211/008a/02111056.htm

The Kostenki - Borshevo sites are a group of more than twenty settlements from the same culture on the right bank of the Don River, south of Voronezh, in the region of the next two villages - Kostenki and Borshevo .

The basic excavations were conducted in the 1920s - 1930s by P. Yefimenko, and in the 1940s - 1960s by A. N. Rogachev.

The research performed here played an important role in the development of modern techniques of excavation of palaeolithic settlements, and in the understanding of the problems which palaeolithic dwellings were designed to solve, female images as sculptures, in the allocation of late palaeolithic cultures to categories, and the establishment of their mutual relations.

Kostenki I (Polyakov site) contained five cultural layers. In the upper layer were preserved the remains of dwellings within an area of 35m by 15m, arranged in lines, with the hearths located along the central longitudinal axis of the dwellings, together with storage pits. Flint tools, hoes made from mammoth tusks, bone digging implements, a baton from deer horn, about forty female statuettes made from both ivory and marl/limestone, figurines of a bear, cavelion and anthropomorphous marl heads.

Triangular flint tools are found in the lowermost layer with a concave base, retouched with a pressure process.

At Kostenki II (Zamyatnina site) were found the remainders of a round dwelling made of mammoth bones, seven or eight metres across, with the fireplace in the centre. This dwelling was adjoining a grave of a Cro-Magnon man buried in the seated position.

At Kostenki IV (Aleksandrovka site) there was preserved in the upper of two cultural layers, the remainders of two round dwellings approximately six metres in diameter with the hearth at the centre of each.

Among the findings here were ground, drilled disks of slate. In the bottom layer there were two long dwellings, with a length of 34m and 23m, and a width of 5.5m, in which were found flint leaf-like tips processed by pressure retouching. In the second layer were found fragments of human bones, partially burnt, as well as flint miniature plates (microliths?) and needle shaped points (burins?).

Kostenki XI contained not less than five cultural layers. In the upper layer the remains of a round dwelling 9 metres in diameter made from large mammoth bones were discovered. In the lower layers there were interesting findings of triangular flint tips, analogous to those found in the lower layer of Kostenki I.

Kostenki XIV (Markina Mountain, Markina Gora), contained four cultural layers. In the third was found the ochred burial of a man with some negroid features.

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.

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.

kostenki mammoth bones

Mammoth bones used for the construction of houses during the last ice age at Kostenki.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

kostenki panorama in winter

Photograph of the landscape near Kostenki in winter. The area has an enthusiastic amateur ski club. This is amazing in an area in the middle of the Russian steppes, but there are slopes up to 70 metres high and four ski lifts!

Photo: http://www.kostenski.narod.ru/ks_fotos/

kostenki panorama in winter

Another photograph of the landscape near Kostenki in winter.

Photo: http://www.kostenski.narod.ru/ks_fotos/ks_f_06.htm

kostenki panorama in summer

The landscape near Kostenki in summer. This shows the construction (in ~ 2003) and smoothing/grooming of the lower part of the ski slopes which are built on a series of chalk (calcium carbonate) ridges.

Photo: http://www.kostenski.narod.ru/ks_fotos/ks_f_01.htm

kostenki ski club in summer

Panoramas of the Kostenski ski slopes in summer and winter.

Photos: http://kostenski.ru/

The slopes have been upgraded (2006) with a new ski run, the position being shown by the yellow arrow in the first photo (2006/2007 season), with three views of the construction process in summer 2006.

Photos: http://kostenski.ru/

The area was rich in game. This is a bison skull, and an elk skull.

Note the shape of the bison horns, much thicker, longer and straighter than the short curved horns of modern European and North American bison.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

This is the very characteristic shape of a mammoth tooth, used for grinding vegetation.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

The bones of the mammoth would have been serviceable weapons, should the need have arisen.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, self portrait 2006

Animals at Kostenki

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

Rodents at Kostenki

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

Distinct localities are in the most recent research labeled with an Arabic number and the "cultural layer" is given a Roman numeral, e.g., "Kostenki 12/III." These localities comprise a majority of the initial Upper Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain, and the archaeological and the earliest occupation stages have been dated to between 39 000 and 34 000 years ago.

(Note that the localities may be further divided, as in "Kostenki 14 IVb" or "Kostenki 14 IVб" where the cultural layer is further subdivided, using either english or cyrillic letters.

Note also that this system was not always used. Early investigators used the opposite system, with a Roman numeral for the site and an arabic number for the cultural layer. For example students of archaeology may well come across references such as this: ...the site of Kostenki IV (Alexandrovka) This site was discovered by S. N. Zamiatnin, during the reconnaissance work of 1927. It is situated in the village of Kostenki... - Don)

Map of the Kostenki sites. Note that this source uses Roman numerals for the distinct localities.

Photo: Man and Culture in the Late Pleistocene, by Richard G. Klein, 1969

Map of the Kostenki and Borshevo sites.

Photo: Archaeology of the USSR - The Palaeolithic of the USSR.

My thanks to Vladimir Gorodnjanski for access to this resource.

Photo/map of the Kostenki sites.

Photo: Google maps

My thanks to Vladimir Gorodnjanski for this adaptation showing specific Kostenki sites.

Photo/map of the Borshevo 2 site.

Photo: Google maps

My thanks to Vladimir Gorodnjanski for this adaptation showing the Borshevo 2 site.

Map of the Kostenki-Borshchevo area, showing the location of Upper Paleolithic sites investigated during 2001–2004. Inset: location of Kostenki.

Although several Upper Paleolithic sites (e.g., Kostenki 18) are located on the third terrace (30 to 40 m) in late Pleistocene loams that directly overlie Cretaceous sand, most sites are found on the second (15 to 20 m) or first (10 m) terrace.

Many of the Kostenki sites are found along Pokrovskii Ravine, one of the largest of the several ravines in the area. Other sites are situated in the main valley or in the smaller side valleys. The Borshchevo localities are along the main valley and adjacent to a large ravine on the south side of the village of Borshchevo.

Photo and text:
Early Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and Implications for the Dispersal of Modern Humans
M. V. Anikovich, et al.
Science 315, 223 (2007)

Also:
Geoarchaeology of the Kostenki– Borshchevo Sites, Don River Valley, Russia.

Vance T. Holliday et al.

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

View to the southeast down a side valley of Pokrovskii Ravine, looking across the mouth of the ravine and the village of Kostenki to the second terrace with Kostenki 12. The floodplain of the Don River is visible in the middle and left distance. Kostenki 1 is just out of view beyond the right side of the side ravine.

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.

Cross section of a hypothetical transect in the area.

Photo: Man and Culture in the Late Pleistocene, by Richard G. Klein, 1969

Generalized geologic cross section of the west bank of the Don Valley in the Kostenki– Borshchevo area illustrating the bedrock, upland, and valley fill stratigraphy. Stratigraphic Units 1, 2, and 3 contain the Upper Paleolithic occupations at most sites on terrace 2. (Based on Lazukov, 1982, Fig. 4)

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.

Text below from Wikipedia:

Colluvium is the name for loose bodies of sediment that have been deposited or built up at the bottom of a low grade slope or against a barrier on that slope, transported by gravity. The deposits that collect at the foot of a steep slope or cliff are also known by the same name. Colluvium often interfingers with alluvium (deposits transported downslope by water). Coarse deposits due to rockfall at a cliff base are called talus (scree) and if lithified are talus breccias. Avalanches, mudslides and landslides are processes that deposit colluvium. This build-up process is called colluviation.

Colluvium normally forms humps at the base of mountains or fan-shaped deposits similar in shape to alluvial fans that cover former ground surfaces. This process is an important phenomenon in the fields of archaeology and soil science.

Many colluvial soils tend to have a fragipan associated with them that are a brittle subsoil layer typically high in clay. One theory of fragipan formation is the smearing of soil during the colluvial process causing the clays to seal the surface between the moving portion of soil and the stationary soil on which it slides. Ancient sites can be preserved beneath colluvium if later changes in the landscape such as deforestation encourage a downward movement of material.

Kostenki map

This is an imaginary cross section through the various Kostenki - Borshevo sites to illustrate the typical positions of the sites in relation to the topography and geology.

low and high flood-lands; alluvial - dealluvial (?colluvial?) sediments on the valley wall
the first terrace above the flood plain
the second terrace above the flood plain
the third terrace above the flood plain, on the right bank of the Don River
the third terrace above the flood plain, on the left bank of the Don River, blocked (?) wind blown sand
frozen subsidence saucers and hollows
the fourth terrace (alluvial and fluvioglacial sediments)
glacial edge of the Don (moraine)
sediment base before quaternary sediments
modern eroded gullies
hillside adjournment (?)
wind deposits
late palaeolithic deposits
volcanic ash deposits

Comparative stratigraphy of the Kostenki - Borshevo area.

Photo: Man and Culture in the Late Pleistocene, by Richard G. Klein, 1969

Stratigraphic profile of Kostenki 12 (east wall) showing the position of the humic beds, CI tephra horizon, Laschamps excursion, and Upper Paleolithic cultural layers, as well as OSL dates and calibrated radiocarbon dates on charcoal.

At Kostenki 12, sediment below the level of the ash horizon yielded optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates of between 52,440 ± 3850 and 45 200 ± 3260 years. Paleomagnetic measurements show that this sediment contains the Laschamps excursion, which has been dated elsewhere to 45 000 to 39 000 years ago (21, 22).

View to the northeast from the uplands immediately west of (and above) K12 looking across the mouth of Pokrovskii Ravine and the village of Kostenki illustrating the setting of K1 at the mouth (and to the left) of a side ravine (see Figure 3). Kostenki 1 is not on the second terrace proper, which is considerably higher in elevation. Note position of K13 on the second terrace for comparison of elevations. The floodplain and channel of the Don River is visible in the upper-right distance.

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.

From Wikipedia:
A geomagnetic excursion, like a geomagnetic reversal, is a significant change in the Earth's magnetic field. Unlike reversals however, an excursion does not change the large scale orientation of the field, but rather represents a dramatic, typically short-lived decrease in field intensity. These events, which typically last a few thousand to a few tens of thousands of years, often involve declines in field strength to between 0-20% of normal.

Lepus tanaiticus

Alopex lagopus

Canis lupus

Equus latipes

Rangifer tarandus

(Note in particular the cultural layers III and IV below the volcanic ash of the CI Tephra - Don)

Map of location of Kostenki
Photo: http://uk8.multimap.com

Road Map of the Kostenki - Borshevo area

Photo: adapted from an unknown source

The Streletskaya Culture/Eastern Szeletian at Kostenki 1/V and at Kostenki 12/III with dates ranging from 36 000 to 27 000 BP
The Spitsynskaya culture at Kostenki 17/II with dates ranging from 36 000 to 32 000 BP
The Gorodtsovskaya culture at Kostenki 14/II and Kostenki 15 with dates ranging from 32 000 to 27 000 BP
The Aurignacian culture at Kostenki 1/III with dates centering around 25 000 BP

Age	Stage	West and Southwest	South	Central	Northeast
24 000 BP			Biryuchia Balka 2/III	Khotylevo
		Korpatch IV		Sungir
	Late/early	Koulichivka II		Rusanikha
26 000 BP		Brynzeny III
	Upper	Korman 4/VII	Kostenki 17/I
		Molodova 5/VIII	Kostenki 16
28 000 BP	Palaeolithic		Kostenki 8/II
		Ivanychi	Kostenki 1/III		Garchi 1
		Zhornov IIa			Byzovaya
30 000 BP
		Molodova 5/IX-X	Kostenki 15
			Kostenki 14/II
32 000 BP
		Mira II
		Kulychivka III	Biryuchia Balka Iv/VII		Zaozerie
	Initial

36 000 BP	Upper		Kostenki 1/V
		Korman 4/X	Kostenki 12/II
	Palaeolithic	Molodova 5/Xa, Xb	Kostenki 17/II
38 000 BP			Kostenki 12/III
			Kostenki 14/IVb
40 000 BP

The ca. 39 000 to 41 000 yr BP eruption of the Campanian Ignimbrite from the Phlegrean Fields, Central Italy, left a widespread tephra marker (known as the Campanian Ignimbrite Y5 ash, or CI Y5) that has been recognised in marine sediment cores across the Eastern Mediterranean. Recent work in the north-eastern Aegean and in south-western Russia confirms that a considerable portion of the Y5 ash was dispersed towards the North and East during this eruption, with fine-grained tephra deposited more than 2500 km from the known source region. In the Don River region of south-west Russia, deposits that are correlated with Y5 on the basis of detailed chemical analysis are found both in well-characterised archaeological contexts (the Paleolithic sites of Kostenki-Borschevo), and in undisturbed geological contexts nearby. The extent of dispersal of ash during the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption confirms this event as the largest known volcanic eruption in Europe of the past 100 000 years.

Unusual antiquity of the bottom cultural layers of a monument

Radiocarbon date 37 240 ± 430/400 for IVb, (not the lowermost) a cultural layer, for the present moment is the most ancient authentic date of the top paleolithic

On mountain Markinoj (Kostenki 14, also known as Markina Gora) we deal with a unique situation of great value.
presence of a series of cultural layers lying in precise stratigraphic conditions;
two of them represent the remains of complexly structured settlements, in Eastern Europe.
One of the IRSL dates for the bottom cultural layer designated as " horizon of the hearths " gives an age of 44.9 ± 3.8 thousand years, that is according to the paleological data analysis, testifying to an early Vjurmskij age for the geological horizon containing this cultural layer;
Unusual character of material culture of the most ancient cultural layers, first of all, the bone industry having (on modern representations) a very "developed" shape. The ornamental core from the IVб (IV b) cultural layer is an example of the most ancient art of Eastern European ornamental art in general;
Found in the horizon of volcanic ashes in 2000 the cultural layer represents a unique phenomenon, being the remains of a settlement whose existence has been interrupted by a catastrophic event comparable to the cataclysm which destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabij 35 000 years later. Ornamental strung objects and shells with artificial apertures from this layer are the most ancient ornaments known from Eastern Europe; (the perforated shells (Columbellidae) in the lowermost level at Kostenki 14 apparently are derived from a source no closer than the Black Sea i.e., transported >500 km) (Science 12 January 2007: Early Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and Implications for the Dispersal of Modern Humans by M. V. Anikovich, A. A. Sinitsyn et al)
In aggregate these data not only change traditional representations about the upper paleolithic of the East Europe, and the character of evolution and the mechanism of formation of a cultural originality, but change the problematics of the top paleolithic as a whole, raising some questions, which had not arisen earlier. In this result consists the principal value of the research.
Layer IVa and "the horizon of the hearths" represent extremely seldom met types of settlements: the first, contacts result single-sweep rotational hunting; the second, in general earlier the unknown person, presumably (by results of the excavation enough limited on the area 1999), has a number of the attributes, allowing to establish its communication with fishery and accompanying (down to weaving nets) kinds of activity.

The Archaeological Site of Kostenki

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.

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.

Photos: http://www.trinitas.ru/rus/doc/0211/008a/02111056.htm

There is a lot of hard work, with little result, when working on an archaeological site. But there is a lot of good feeling generated by being with others in such a situation.

Kostenki 14

Photo: http://www.trinitas.ru/rus/doc/0211/008a/02111056.htm

Photo from the dig at Kostenki 14, 2004.

Photo: http://www.trinitas.ru/rus/doc/0211/008a/02111056.htm

kostenki excavations
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.

Photo and text: http://archaeology.about.com/od/earlymansites/a/kostenki.htm
Science © 2007

New Dates at Kostenki

kostenki excavations
Non-stone artifacts from the lowest layer at Kostenki that includes a perforated shell, a probable small human figurine (three views, top center) and several assorted awls, mattocks and bone points dating to greater than 40 000 years ago

The CI Y5 Tephra was recently dated in the eastern Mediterranean using the potassium-argon dating method to 39 300 years ago; and optically stimulated luminescence dating of the layers below it at Kostenki indicates that they are several thousand years older than the tephra. The new non-Aurignacian assemblage is unarguably sophisticated, particularly in comparison with the local Mousterian, including large prismatic blades, numerous burins, end scrapers and pieces esquillees.

Photo and text: http://archaeology.about.com/od/earlymansites/a/kostenki.htm
Colorado University at Boulder © 2007

kostenki excavations
Shell, fossil, and bone ornaments were made with a hand-held rotary drill. Perforated shells originating in the Black Sea region were discovered; and a piece of carved ivory may represent an unfinished human figurine. Finally, bones of small animals (hare, arctic fox, wolf, and bird) suggests the inhabitants used fairly sophisticated hunting methods.

Text: http://archaeology.about.com/od/earlymansites/a/kostenki.htm
Photo:
Early Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and Implications for the Dispersal of Modern Humans
M. V. Anikovich, et al.
Science 315, 223 (2007)

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

Humans or Neanderthals?

kostenki excavations
Kostenki 14 excavations in 2002.

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.

Text above from: http://archaeology.about.com/od/earlymansites/a/kostenki.htm
Photo: http://elementy.ru/news/430435

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.

Photo: "The Upper Paleolithic of the Russian plain and the Crimean Peninsula"

My thanks to Vladimir Gorodnjanski for access to this resource.

(Note: this is a method of ensuring that wooden poles for houses or other structures have a much longer life. Normally wood rots quickly in moist ground. The builders cut across the mammoth bones, which exposed the hollow centre of the bone. The bone was then dug into the ground and locked into position with rammed stones and bone chips around it, but the pole was inserted into the hollow centre of the bone, above ground level. It was thus not exposed to the fungi and wood rotting organisms such as insects and other invertebrates which otherwise destroy organic material such as wood in a few years. A similar method is used today to preserve vertical wooden supports for such things as carports, but steel stirrups are used to raise the wooden posts above the (usually concreted) ground level. - Don)

Excavation of mammoth long bones at Kostenki I

Photo: N.D. Praslov

Mammoth bone dwellings at Kostenki II

Photo: N.D. Praslov

Mammoth bone dwellings at Kostenki II, inside the 'pavilion' which was at one time in disrepair.

Photo: http://uic.rsu.ru/Don_NC/Ancient/Stone/kostenki.htm

Note that Kostenki is not a single "site": instead there are an array of open-air sites within the Kostenki district, all of which are stratified into the terraces of the Don River. Distinct localities are labeled with an Arabic number and the "cultural layer" is given a Roman numeral, e.g., "Kostenki 12/III." These localities comprise a majority of the initial Upper Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain, and the archaeological and the earliest occupation stages had been dated to between 39 000 and 34 000 years ago.

This photograph shows that the 'pavilion' that was in disrepair at Kostenki 11 is now very much restored, which is wonderful news. It is possible that this is a recreation of the original dig.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

It is also very good to see that the pavilion is being used for education purposes. These students will come away with a better understanding of their culture and heritage.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

The Kostenki sites are close not only to the Don River, which provided a "highway" for migrating mammoths, but to smaller streams and springs which almost always provided clear drinking water, not muddied by floods or glacier runoff clouded by ground rock.

This pontoon bridge provides valuable access from one side of the Don to the other. The gears visible on the right are used to tension the wire rope which helps to keep the pontoons lined up correctly.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

Elsewhere, car ferries are used. This one has a recycled tractor to act as the motive power, pulling on a wire rope stretched from one side of the Don River to the other.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

kostenki excavation Ongoing excavations in Russia indicate anatomically modern humans were developing new technologies for survival in the cold, harsh region some 30 000 to 40 000 years ago, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher...excavations at Kostenki -- a series of more than 20 sites about 250 miles south of present-day Moscow -- have yielded bone and ivory needles with eyelets that are 30 000 years old.
A similar situation was observed at Muralovka. The dwelling was situated on a small cape on a bank of a liman. Quite near its western side ground water ran from below loamy clay along the surface of Sarmatian limestone. To keep out the constant moisture, a narrow band along the north-western part of the dwelling was paved with limestone slabs.

Hunting flourished during the so-called middle part of the Upper Palaeolithic. In my opinion, this was promoted considerably by the improvement of hunting implements, particularly the ability to launch projectiles over a longer range after the bow was invented and brought into use between 30 000 and 25 000 b.p.

Photo and text: http://www.marsearthconnection.com/news.html (Google cache, no longer there. Photo probably summer 2001)

Plan and Cross section of a round, sunken hut at Kostienki.

Photo: K. Sklenar, 'Hunters of the Stone Age'

From: National Geographic October 1988, photo by Ira Block

Reconstruction of a house at Kostenki which does not use mammoth bones as a primary structural material.

Photo: From the book shown, by Vinnikov.

My thanks to Vladimir Gorodnjanski for access to this resource.

A sunken floored hut from Kostienki I. A fireplace is shaded on the floor, covered by mammoth tusks, which probably supported the roof.

Photo: K. Sklenar, 'Hunters of the Stone Age'

Plan de la première structure d'habitat de Kostienki I, couche 1, d'après P. P. Efimenko. Reconstitution spatiale des représentations animalières d'après L. Iakovleva.

Plan of the first hut of Kostienki I, layer 1, according to P. P. Efimenko. Plan of the representation of animal remains according to L Iakovleva.

Photo and French text: "les mammouths - Dossiers Archéologie - n° 291 - Mars 2004"

My thanks to Anya for access to this resource.

Note also the plan of the same Horizon I house, Kostienki I below after Klein, R.G. 1973.

Plan of Horizon I house, Kostienki I after Klein, R.G. 1973. Ice-Age Hunters of the Ukraine. Univ. of Chicago.

Note the alternative plan above, showing animal remains, from the source "les mammouths - Dossiers Archéologie - n° 291 - Mars 2004".

The text below is from the very useful book 'The Prehistory of Europe' 1980 by Patricia Phillips (Allen Lane)

This structure described by Klein comes from the loess-like loams overlying the upper humic bed in the Kostienki-Borshevo terraces. Kostienki 1, Horizon 1, was excavated in the 1930s, and reconstructed as a 'long house' 35 in long by approximately 16 m wide. This colossal area encompassed nine hearth pits, mostly down the centre line of the structure, and sixteen large pits around the periphery, four of them interpreted as sleeping areas and twelve as caches, full of mammoth bone.

The rest of the floor of the supposed structure was covered with a series of little pits, again regarded as caches. Klein is not convinced by the interpretation of the structure as a single long house (iq69b, p. 121). The agglomeration of features is certainly of great interest, however, as is also the presence of a series of animal figurines, and bone artifacts including possible 'head' bands with incised decoration. Six female figurines from the site were made of local limestone (marl) and ivory (Klein, 1969b) (Fig. 29). Many fragmentary remains of figurines were also found. The figurines are decorated with bands incised around the waist and above the breast. Larger bone artifacts include possible mattocks. The famous Kostienki points, which are elongated flint points with an asymmetrically placed tang, have been examined by Semenov for evidence of microwear (1964). He has concluded that they were used as knives.

Another Kostienki site, No. IV, Horizon 1, consisted of two depressions 6 m apart and approximately 6 in in diameter, considered to represent hut floors. The original huts may have been larger as the finds distribution is wider than that of the actual depressions and extends particularly to the south-west where, it is suggested, the doorway was. The excavators believe that points with burin facets on the proximal end may have been used as whittle knives, with the burin end inserted into a handle. Other interesting finds from this site include ground slate discs 3 to 6 cm in diameter which, it is suggested, were used to retouch the flints. In addition there were dotdecorated stylized figurines in ivory, and ivory rods and bone 'clothes fasteners'. Bones from Horizons I and 11 at Kostienki IV were not separated during excavation, but it is assumed that woolly rhinoceros and cave lion at least derived from Horizon 1. As with the other Ukrainian sites previously mentioned, pits occurred in the Kostienki IV-I habitation units, the western hut containing eight pits in the centre, all under a layer of heavy grey ash. In the eastern depression, there were six ash-filled pits and others which seemed to have served as caches. Sandstone slabs around the periphery may have had something to do with the original wall structure, and two cave lion crania found on the top of the deposit are suggested to have been used to crown the original tents. Klein has suggested that from the calories available in the form of animals the different sites in the Kostienki-Borshevo region could have been occupied from as long as forty-three days to four years. He suggests that the sites represent longish occupation, probably during the winter.

East European archaeologists are particularly interested in the origin of raw materials used in Palaeolithic sites, and in the wear marks visible on the retouched tools; for instance, at the Kostienki sites, brown and yellow flint and quartzite are of local origin, but the black flint brought in as blanks is not. Petrographic analysis has proved that some of the black flint comes from approximately 150 km to the south-west, from the valleys of the Valuj and the Oskol rivers. Other black flint may come from as far as 300 km away.

The text below is from the very useful book 'The Prehistory of Europe' 1980 by Patricia Phillips (Allen Lane)

Kozlowski has recently discussed flint mines in southern Poland, one near Cracow, one near Czestochowa, and one near Radom. The latter source produces magnificent chocolate-coloured flint. All these sites have deep extraction shafts and shallower pits. In the Polish Late Palaeolithic (Swiderian) the flint extracted was initially worked near by, e.g. at the site of GoJac. Then pre-cores, initial cores and blank blades were exported. There is a vast distribution of chocolate flint, presumably coming from the Radom mines, along the River Vistula. Away from the source sites there is a greater concentration of artifacts and less flintworking debris than in the workshops near the mines. Kozlowski has studied the distribution of flint types in eastern Europe (as in the accompanying diagram) In the western part of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, Upper Palaeolithic peoples used a majority of Upper Silesian flint (76-87 per cent in Moravia), with some radiolarite coming from the Carpathians or the Alps in second place. In eastern Slovakia and east Hungary, the dominant material used was the local obsidian and in the Dneister and Punt valleys local Cretaceous flint. Kozlowski has suggested intergroup ownership of source areas, or early barter, as an explanation for distribution patterns of flint and other materials. He suggests that these trade routes began in the Paudorf interstadial, i.e. from approximately 30 000 years B.P. One route led from the Danube to the Morava to the Oder, and another from the Dniester to the east Carpathian passes, and thence to the Carpathian basins.

A sunken floored hut from Kostienki I. A fireplace is shaded on the floor, covered by mammoth tusks, which probably supported the roof.

Photo: K. Sklenar, 'Hunters of the Stone Age'

Particularly interesting was the discovery of a lion's skull, found in the upper levels of the layer. Rogatchev thought that the skull might have been kept on top of the roof as a kind of decoration or that it might have had some ritual significance. Yefimenko made an interesting discovery of the skull of an aurochs in dwelling 'A' at the site of Kostienki 1, which might be a parallel.

(this length and width appear to be typographical errors)

(11 fireplaces are shown)

(28.6 metres by 6 metres according to the plan. This could easily be the description for 371 instead of 370)

( no mention is made here of the add-on semicircular section)

( 33.3 metres by 6 metres according to the plan. The division of the fireplaces identifies this as plan 371)

Photo: B & G Delluc, 'Prehistoric Hunters'

Click on the image to see a close up

Drilled bead of fossilised sea-urchin spine, 36 000 years BP.

Photo: Time Magazine 13th Feb 1995

Tête zoomorphe sculptée de S(K?)ostienski 1 - Collection MAE - Photo L. Iakovleva.

Carved head from S(K?)ostienski 1 - Collection MAE - Photograph L Iakovleva.

Photo and French text: "les mammouths - Dossiers Archéologie - n° 291 - Mars 2004"
Photograph L Iakovleva.

My thanks to Anya for access to this resource.

Kostenki Limestone Venus

Found at the Russian site of Kostenki in 1988, is by far the biggest such object known from the ice age. The height of the surviving fragment is 13.5 cm (5.5 inches) It is noteworthy not only for its massive size and the prominent navel, but also for the bracelets on the wrists, which appear to be joined together at the front like a pair of handcuffs.

Photo: P. Bahn, 'Prehistoric Art'

Another view of the Kostenki Limestone Venus

Photo: http://www.exn.ca/Stories/2000/02/03/53.asp

2 cm long stylised stone mammoth from Kostienki.

Photo: J. Jelinek, 'The Evolution of Man'

Pipes made from long, hollow bird bones from Kostienki 1. They may have been musical instruments or animal lures.

Photo: K. Sklenar, 'Hunters of the Stone Age'

Kostienki Venus front.

Kostienki Venus side.

Kostienki Venus back.

Photo: G. Clark, 'The Stone Age Hunters'

Two figurines from Kostenki/Kostienki

Photo: J Jelinek, 'The Evolution of Man'

Two small carvings in ivory from Kostenki 1

Photo: N.D. Praslov

kostenki spadehead
The decorated head of a spade from Kostenki 1.

Photo: Archaeology of the USSR - The Palaeolithic of the USSR.

My thanks to Vladimir Gorodnjanski for access to this resource.

kostenki bracelet
Fragment of a bracelet from Kostenki 1.

Photo: Archaeology of the USSR - The Palaeolithic of the USSR.

My thanks to Vladimir Gorodnjanski for access to this resource.

Venus figure.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

Venus figure.

This has the classic and famous beaded decoration around the neck and above the breasts.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

Venus figure.

This figure has lost both legs and head.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

Venus figure.

This is a fascinating venus figure. It has what appears to be an item of clothing or decoration below the breasts, the functionality of which is unclear.

Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

The Yeliseevichi venus figure.

From: www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol18/pa04.pdf

The Yeliseevichi site was discovered in 1930 and it is located on the river Sudost, the right tributary of the Desna, in the Briansk Province, Russia. The majority of prehistoric artefacts was found in a heap of mammoth sculls piled next to a residential house. The most remarkable of these is a finely modelled 15 cm tall figure depicting a shapely woman with no feet, head and hands, carved of mammoth tusk. The figurine has prominent buttocks and legs.

(This venus figure, which may be a copy, appears never to have had a head, and the sculpture emphasises the thighs and buttocks rather than the breasts, although they are certainly indicated. This has the look of a younger figure which has not yet gone through childbirth. The waist is slim, the hips and thighs are well formed, as are the breasts, unchanged by child-rearing. It has quite a different emphasis and seems from a different tradition when compared with most other Kostenki venuses, nor for that matter with most of the other Gravettian venuses from France, for example. It has affinities with the unusual "venus impudique" from France. - Don)

Photo (left): Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2006

Photo (right): www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol18/pa04.pdf

Statuette féminine de Kostienki 1, vue de face. Collection MAE. Photo L. Iakovleva.

Venus from Kostienki 1, frontal view. Collection MAE. This seems to be the same as one of the venuses drawn above.

Photo and French text: "les mammouths - Dossiers Archéologie - n° 291 - Mars 2004"
Photograph L Iakovleva.

My thanks to Anya for access to this resource.

Vulve sculptée de Kostienki 1. Collection MAE. Photo L. Iakovleva.

Vulva sculpture from Kostienki 1. Collection MAE.

Photo and French text: "les mammouths - Dossiers Archéologie - n° 291 - Mars 2004"
Photograph L Iakovleva.

My thanks to Anya for access to this resource.

These photos appear to be of the same figurine from Kostenki/Kostenky/Kostienki, although the colour cast in the images are entirely different.

Photo: (left) http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_2_1a.html. (this server has since disappeared)
(right images) http://exn.ca/stories/2000/02/03/53.asp

Head of a venus known popularly as the golf ball. From the Kostenki I site in Russia. The real basket headware was made of plaited starts and coiled basketry, copied here in stone.

Photo: http://www.unl.edu/rhames/212/venus/venus_string.html

Dr. Olga Soffer examining the "golf ball" head of the Venus of the Kostenki I site in Russia.

"Because they have emotionally charged thingies like breasts and buttocks, the Venus figurines have been the subject of more spilled ink than anything I know of," Dr. Soffer said.

"There are as many opinions on them as there are people in field."

Text and Photo: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/history/lecture02/r_2-1.html

Campi Flegrei

¹⁴

40.827 N, 14.139 E; summit elev. 458 m
The volcano of Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean Fields, Greek for "burning fields") lies immediately to the west of Napoli, and its deposits form much of the hills on which the higher areas of that city have been constructed. Less conspicuous as a volcano than neighboring Vesuvio, the Campi Flegrei must be considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Italy, mostly because of continuing unrest and dense population within the caldera and in its immediate vicinity. Volcanism has occurred in the Campi Flegrei area during the past 50 thousand years, including two extremely violent explosive eruptions, the one that erupted the Campanian ignombrite (35 thousand years ago) and another one only 12 thousand years ago which produced the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff. The erupted volumes show a general decrease with time, and the most recent eruptions were characterized by moderate to small volumes.
Photo: http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~boris/CAMPIFLEGREI.html