mammoth bone bracelet
© Encyclopedia of UkraineBracelet from Mizyn
In Sivershchina, close to the village of Mizyn in Ukraine is one of the oldest and most unique settlements of humans - and it was discovered in a parking lot. The now well-known archaeological site, known plainly as the Mizyn parking lot, dates back 18-20 thousand years. In this spot two intricately carved bracelets made from mammoth bone were found, which led to the unraveling of a fantastic Stone Age discovery.

Investigating the settlement

The beginning of the research at this site dates back to the early twentieth century, in the summer of 1908, in the neighboring village of Psarivka (today about Desniansk). Archaeologist Fedir Vovk with his disciple Sergii Rudenko hired a farmstead for a summer holiday. In the nearby forest he found a small flint of obviously deliberate splitting. It prompted the scientist to investigate the situation on the spot and he was able to identify the find as from "the Paleolithic station of the late Paleolithic of the Madeline era".

Vovk presented a report of the findings during the congress of archaeologists later that year. In addition, as part of the exhibit he displayed 72 animal bones and several small showcases of flint tools. With these clues pointing towards ancient activity in the area, the excavations that he had begun in 1908 were continued under the direction of Vovk, and in 1909, his students P. Efimenko and V. Sakharov.

Human settlers

One of the most characteristic features of the habitation that the archaeologists found at the Mizyna parking lot were five round dwellings, each with a diameter of about seven meters (23 ft) and an area of ​​up to 25 square meters (270 sq ft).
paleolithic house reconstruction
© Encyclopedia of UkraineReconstruction of Paleolithic housing in Mizyn.
These dome-like dwellings incorporated mammoth bones in their construction and resembled the "plague" of the northern peoples: they were built of wooden poles, covered with animal skins, and externally lined with animal bones and horns. Nearby there were places for processing stone and bones.

In addition to residential and commercial buildings in this area, many original high-art products from the mammoth tusk have been found: sculpture-idols, stylized female figurines, animal figures, birds, intricately engraved mammoth bones, the world's first musical instruments ensemble, and bracelets with perhaps the world's first ornament.

It is not known how the bracelets were made and in particular how they were bent using the limited technology available 18 thousand years ago.

The designs on the bracelet were made with deep engraving and a red dye on flat plates of the mammoth's tusk.

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