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The chronology and function of a new circular mammoth-bone structure at Kostenki 11

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2020

Alexander J.E. Pryor Open the ORCID record for Alexander J.E. Pryor [Opens in a new window] ,
David G. Beresford-Jones ,
Alexander E. Dudin ,
Ekaterina M. Ikonnikova ,
John F. Hoffecker  and
Clive Gamble
Alexander J.E. Pryor*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, UK
David G. Beresford-Jones
Affiliation:
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, UK
Alexander E. Dudin
Affiliation:
Kostenki Museum-Preserve, Voronezh, Russia
Ekaterina M. Ikonnikova
Affiliation:
Independent researcher
John F. Hoffecker
Affiliation:
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA
Clive Gamble
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, UK
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ alex.pryor@exeter.ac.uk
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Abstract

Circular features made from mammoth bone are known from across Upper Palaeolithic Eastern Europe, and are widely identified as dwellings. The first systematic flotation programme of samples from a recently discovered feature at Kostenki 11 in Russia has yielded assemblages of charcoal, burnt bone and microlithic debitage. New radiocarbon dates provide the first coherent chronology for the site, revealing it to be one of the oldest such features on the Russian Plain. The authors discuss the implications for understanding the function of circular mammoth-bone features during the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum.

Keywords

Russian PlainKostenkiPalaeolithicmammoth bonedwellingflotationdebitage
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 94 , Issue 374 , April 2020 , pp. 323 - 341
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020

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