The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis)
The article is devoted to the first synthesis informing the location of the dwellings in the Upper Palaeolithic site Gontsy, their size and architecture, and provides a provisional inventory of their components. There were discovered six mammoth bone huts, five of which were revealed during the Fren...
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| Datum: | 2018 |
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Institute of Archaeology NAS of Ukraine
2018
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| author | Iakovleva, Lioudmila Djindjian, François |
| author_facet | Iakovleva, Lioudmila Djindjian, François |
| author_institution_txt_mv | [
{
"author": "Lioudmila Iakovleva",
"institution": "Institute of Archaeology NAS Ukraine",
"orcid": "0000-0001-5817-3295"
},
{
"author": "François Djindjian",
"institution": "UMR 7041 ArScAn",
"orcid": ""
}
] |
| author_orcid_str_mv | 0000-0001-5817-3295 |
| author_sort | Iakovleva, Lioudmila |
| baseUrl_str | https://arheologia.com.ua/index.php/arheologia/oai |
| collection | OJS |
| container_end_page | 94 |
| container_issue | 4 |
| container_start_page | 86 |
| container_title | Археологія |
| container_volume | |
| datestamp_date | 2020-01-19T08:38:12Z |
| description | The article is devoted to the first synthesis informing the location of the dwellings in the Upper Palaeolithic site Gontsy, their size and architecture, and provides a provisional inventory of their components. There were discovered six mammoth bone huts, five of which were revealed during the French-Ukrainian excavations in progress since 1993. For the first time, it may be given a comprehensive reconstruction of a campsite and all the activities made by hunters during their occupation at the site. The six mammoth bone dwellings of various dimensions are described here for the first time, for a preliminary synthesis.
The history of the Gontsy site excavations is given. The first excavations by narrow trenches were carried out in 1873. The first step has concerned the excavations of the mammoth bone bed (1995—2000) and the stratigraphic connections with the dwelling area.
The description of all the dwellings is also given by the author, as well as the notes about a specific method for studying mammoth bone dwellings. As to the author, after excavation, the study of a dwelling starts by a data acquisition phase with a precise map per square meter with the most accurate possible archaeozoological determination of each bone. A 3D recording by digital photogrammetry complete the manual record.
For the first time, in the history of the excavations of mammoth bone dwellings, with the method of conservation in situ under large hangars for protection, all the archaeological layers and dwelling structures: mammoth bone dwellings, pits, hearths, working areas, dumping areas, butchering areas, are preserved for the preparation of a future site museum in Gontsy, open to the public. |
| doi_str_mv | 10.15407/archaeologyua2018.04.086 |
| first_indexed | 2026-08-07T01:01:21Z |
| format | Article |
| fulltext |
ISSN 0235-3490 (Print), ISSN 2616-499X (Online). Археологія, 2018, № 486
Статті
© Lioudmila Iakovleva, François Djindjian, 2018
Lioudmila Iakovleva, François Djindjian *
THE MAMMOTH BONE DWELLINGS
OF THE UPPER PALAEOLITHIC SETTLEMENT
OF GiNTSY (Ukraine: a First Synthesis)
УДК 903.3(477.53)«632»
* Iakovleva Lioudmila — Institute of A rchaeology
NAS Ukraine & UMR 7041 ArScAn
Djindjian François — UMR 7041 ArScAn, UISPP,
CIPSH
https://doi.org/10.15407/archaeologyua2018.04.086
The excavations of the upper Palaeolithic site with mammoth
bone dwellings of Gontsy (Ukraine) have revealed six
mammoth bone huts. The first dwelling (nr. 1) was discovered
by Scherbakivski in 1915. The other five dwellings (nr. 2 to
nr. 6) have been discovered during the French-Ukrainian
excavations in progress since 1993. The huts nr. 3, 4, 5, 6 are
conserved in situ under a large hangar for protection. This
paper delivers a first synthesis informing the location of the
dwellings in the settlement, their size and architecture, and
provides a provisional inventory of their components.
K e y w o r d s : upper palaeolithic, mammoth, settlement,
dwellings.
Introduction
25 campaigns of excavations have been made at the
site of Gontsy (Gintsy in Ukrainian transcription)
(Ukraine, Poltava region), without interruption
since 1993, conducted by a team from the
Institute of archaeology of the National Academy
of Sciences of Ukraine and the CNRS UMR
7041 A rScAn laboratory, under the direction of
Lioudmila Iakovleva and François Djindjian. A ll
the spatial components of a late Upper Palaeolithic
hunter-gatherer campsite have been recognized.
For the first time, it may be given a comprehensive
reconstruction of a campsite and all the activities
made by hunters during their occupation. The six
mammoth bone dwellings of various dimensions are
described here for the first time, for a preliminary
synthesis.
The Gontsy Site
The late upper Palaeolithic site of Gontsy is located
one hundred eighty kilometers to the southeast
from Kyiv, near Lubny, in the Valley of the Udai, a
tributary of the Soula who joined the Dnieper. The
site, in its current geomorphology, is located on the
northern slope of the Udai valley, on a promontory
cut by the convergent beds of an ancient system of
gullies that descend from the plain, on a fossil terrace
located twenty meters above the present river bed
(fig. 1). The eastern gully yielded an accumulation of
mammoth bones, whose origin is the natural death of
a whole mammoth herd, unique event that occurred
during the winter. The discovery of the mammoths
by a human group during the snow melting in early
spring, allowed them to install long-time camp-
site on the promontory in the immediate vicinity of
gullies, to operate their carcasses and build dwellings
by selecting the largest bones (Iakovleva, Djindjian,
Maschenko, Konik, 2010; Djindjian, 2015).
The History Of Excavations
on the Gontsy Site
The Gontsy site was the first Palaeolithic site
known in E astern E urope, whose discovery
returned to G.S. K yriakov in 1871. The first
excavations by narrow trenches were carried out
in 1873 by F.I. Kaminski, and presented with the
help of geologist K .M. Feofilactov in 1878 at the
3rd Congress of A rchaeology in K yiv (Kaminski,
1878). From 1914 to 1916, V .M. Scherbakivskyi,
curator of the Museum in Poltava, undertook the
first large excavations and view of the first cluster of
bones (dwelling nr. 1) he decided to keep in place,
protected by a wood protection (Scherbakivskyi,
1919, 1926; Gorodtsov, 1926).
In 1935, a Ukrainian-Russian team, directed
by I.F. Levytskyi and A.I. Brusov, has excavated an
important area of 380 m
2
since the archaeological
level of mammoth bones accumulation in the fos-
sil gullies up to the settlement of the promontory,
where several pits located at the south of the 1915
hut were found (Levytskyi, 1947; Brusov, 1940).
ISSN 0235-3490 (Print), ISSN 2616-499X (Online). Археологія, 2018, № 4 87
Between 1977 and 1981, V.I. Sergin, of the Insti-
tute of Archaeology of Moscow, launched limited
excavations devoted exclusively to rediscovering
and to dismantling the 1915 hut and its proximi-
ty (Sergin, 1981, 1983). In 1993, an internation-
al collaborative project of the Institute of archae-
ology of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and
the CNRS (UMR 7041 ArScAn, «Archaeology of
Central Asia»), creates a new team, under the di-
rection of L. Iakovleva and F. Djindjian, to restart
the excavations of the site, held without interrup-
tion until this day (fig. 2).
The first years have concerned the localization
of the old excavations and of the intact part of the
settlement. The first step has concerned the ex-
cavations of the mammoth bone bed (1995-2000)
and the stratigraphic connections with the dwell-
ing area. The excavations of the dwelling area has
started in 1998 with the working areas of the west-
ern part of the dwelling nr. 1 and the discovery of
the small dwelling nr. 2. The first hangars have been
erected in 2001 (in the area of the dwellings) and
2003 (above the southern part of the mammoth
bone bed). The 2001-2009 period has concerned
the working areas (lower and upper levels) under
the hangar 1 until the discovery of the dwelling nr. 3
and the mammoth bone bed under the hangar 2. In
2009, the hangar 1 has then been extended twice
for the excavations of the dwellings: nr. 3 (2009),
nr. 4 (2011), nr. 5 (2012), and nr. 6 (2015). 2018 is
the twenty-six campaign of excavations (Iakovleva
& Djindjian, 2001, 2004, 2014, 2015; Iakovleva &
al., 2010, 2012).
The Spatial Organisation of the Settlement
The campsite presents a spatial organization with
a central area of mammoth bone dwellings. Each
dwelling generally has an inside hearth and is
surrounded by a variable number of pits. Various
working areas occupy the central area between
the dwellings, where there are also outdoor
fireplaces and long bone poles. On the periphery,
are located dumping areas and garbage, then
areas for butchering the animals carried back
into the settlement. A nd at the bottom of the
Eastern fossil gully, there are spatially distributed
accumulations of mammoth carcasses, which
has largely been exploited by the occupants of
the settlement.
The area of the dwellings. The area of the dwell-
ings is located on the promontory, according to a
general North-South line. Several mammoth bone
structures have been found since 1871:
- The large dwelling nr. 1, discovered by
Scherbakivskyi in 1915. This hut was surrounded
by 9 pits. It was dismantled by V. Sergin in 1981.
- The small dwelling nr. 2 discovery and disman-
tled in 1998, to the West of the previous.
- Further to the North, under the large hangar
of protection, a structure discovered in 2002, prob-
ably a large pit, have not been fully excavated yet.
The other structures were discovered, pickled
and preserved under the large hangar of protection
of the site. These are:
- The large dwelling nr. 3, discovered in 2009
and excavated in 2010, 2014 and 2015,
- The dwelling nr. 4, excavated in 2011, is a me-
dium sized oval hut,
- The large dwelling nr. 5, discovered in 2011,
and excavated in 2012 and 2013. A pit was discov-
ered northeast of this hut.
- The large dwelling nr. 6, discovered in 2015
and excavated in 2016. A pit was discovered to the
north from this hut.
Three pits discovered to the south from the set-
tlement by Levytskyi and Brusov convincing them
to propose the hypothesis of an another dwelling
Fig. 1. General view of the site of Gontsy under protection. Photo by L. Iakovleva, F. Djindjian
Fig. 4. The small dwelling nr. 2. Photo by L. Iakovleva, F. Djindjian
Fig. 2. General map of the of Gontsy site: the history of the excavations, the settlement
and its dwellings, the mammoth bone bed. Drawing by L. Iakovleva, F. Djindjian
Fig. 5. The dwelling nr. 3. Photo by L. Iakovleva, F. Djindjian
Fig. 6. The dwelling nr. 4. Photo by L. Iakovleva, F. Djindjian
ISSN 0235-3490 (Print), ISSN 2616-499X (Online). Археологія, 2018, № 488
(nr. 0), to the south of dwelling nr. 1, discovered
and dismantled by an amateur, doctor Guelvig who
made excavations on the site in 1905. But the three
pits could be also a part of the dwelling nr. 1.
The presence of many pits surrounding the
mammoth bone dwellings is also one of the charac-
teristic features of the settlement. They were used
for the extraction of the loess to fill the walls of
huts, for the summer storage of food on permafrost
in the bottom of the pit, for the storage of bone ma-
terials and as dumps.
The working areas. Various working areas are lo-
cated between the dwellings and pits and beyond
the circle of pits. They are particularly easy to deci-
pher. We know well two of these activity areas: one
excavated in 1998 to the West from the dwelling nr.
1 and those located more to the North from the the
dwelling nr. 1, currently preserved under the large
hangar for protection. A new one has been discov-
ered in 2017 North of the dwelling nr. 6 and prob-
ably also nr. 5. The excavated layers provide a spa-
tial distribution of flint blades, bladelets and tools,
tools made of reindeer antlers and ivory, blocks of
dyes, marks of ochre of different colors, tests of
shells, abandoned objects of adornment, which,
thanks to the flint usewear analysis, reveal activities
of flint knapping, working of bone-material and
wood, tanning skins, preparation of dyes and pro-
duction of tools (G. Sapozhnikova).
Several large outdoor fireplaces have been
found: North of the dwelling nr. 2, on a top of a large
pit; between the dwellings nr. 2 and nr. 3; between
the dwellings nr. 3, 4 and 6; between the dwellings
nr. 4 and nr. 5 and at the North of dwelling nr. 6. A
hearth for the preparation of the dye was also found
to the north from dwellings nr. 1 and 2. Several sets
of bone poles, carried out through sunken vertical-
ly long bones were also found, located between the
dwellings: between the dwelling nr. 3 and 4 and be-
tween the dwellings nr. 3 and 6.
The areas of dumps and garbage. Beyond
the working areas, and in the immediate vicini-
ty, are dumping areas and garbage. To the East of
the dwelling nr. 1, were discovered and excavated
in 1996 and 1997, several aligned deposits of ash
dumps and flint knapping garbage. Symmetrically,
to the West of the dwelling nr. 1 (1998 excavations)
and the dwelling nr. 3 (2014 excavations), beyond
the working areas, there is also an alignment of
dumping accumulations from hearths.
The butchering areas. Beyond the dumping ar-
eas, an area of animal butchering is located where
Fig. 3. 3D recording by digital
photogrammetry. Drawing by
L. Iakovleva, F. Djindjian,
Y. Egels
ISSN 0235-3490 (Print), ISSN 2616-499X (Online). Археологія, 2018, № 4 89
the entire hunted animals are carried back to the
site and butchered there: reindeer and fur animals
(carnivores, hare and marmot). Bone remains of
reindeer and marmot were also found inside the
pits. The reindeer were hunted in the spring (con-
clusions of N. Belan), marmots in summer and car-
nivores in winter, indicating a long occupation of
the site from the spring to the end of the winter. The
scattered bones reveal the existence of hunting large
mammals: mammoth, bison, horse, more excep-
tionally rhinoceros and musk ox whose importance
is biased by a butchering on the hunting and kill-
ing place and the usage of fresh bones as combus-
tion material, leading to a systematic bias of the an-
atomical parts and individuals. Some of these bones
were thrown into the mammoth bone accumulation
at the bottom of the fossil gully, giving another ar-
gument about the contemporaneous function of the
settlement and the mammoth bone bed.
The mammoth bone bed in the fossil gully. On the
settlement of Gontsy, the mammoth bone bed is lo-
cated in the Eastern fossil gully, a few meters from
the promontory, where the settlement is installed in
stratigraphic, taphonomic and functional direct re-
lationship, with the mammoth bone dwellings. The
bone bed corresponds to the one event of a natu-
ral herd composed of variable age female individu-
als, adolescents, juveniles and babies, died during
the winter at the bottom of a dry and shallow gul-
ly. Their carcasses have been widely exploited by
the human group which has left only entire bones
and in good state of preservation: legs, ribs, verte-
brae and hyoid bones often still layered in quasi-
anatomic position mixed with flint, bone and ivo-
ry tools, and with many hearths, vestiges of the ex-
ploitation of the bone bed (Iakovleva & Djindjian,
2001, Djindjian, 2015).
The Mammoth Bone Dwellings
An adapted method of excavations. A mammoth
bone dwelling is a collapsed structure that has a
significant thickness (up to 1 meter between the
bones of the top and the base of the foundations).
The bones are found tangled (up to five or six
overlays). The bones have been systematically
modified to be able to be attached to each other in
the construction. Thus, long bones have been dug or
appointed, so that the long bones and tusks can be
imbedded into alveoli, long bones or tusks. Shovels
and basins are pierced to be attached by tendons. At
the time of the collapse of the hut, sometime after
its abandonment, the bones of the walls fall inward
or outward following weaknesses of clips that break.
The bones, tusks and reindeer antlers of the roof
(regardless of the different proposed hypotheses for
the reconstitution: bone and tusk vaulted ceiling,
corbelled roof or ballasted skin cover) are falling
down in the center of the dwelling.
At the time of the dwelling collapse, dry bones
broke, often at the place of their perforation, due
to the downfall of skull walls of scapulae and pelvis.
During the excavation then there were revealed so
many small fragments of skull bones, molar blade-
lets, scapula, alveoli or pelvis that it was necessary
to remove them and try to connect them to the large
fragments in place.
The walls were sealed by loess extracted from the
pits dug around the hut, to protect it from the wind
and cold. Once the dwelling is abandoned, the loess
flows under the effect of rain and covers the work-
ing areas outside the dwelling, and the loess is in
turn covered with fragments of bones broken at the
time of the dwelling collapse. When excavation ar-
rived at this level of small bone fragments, the cho-
sen method was to remove them, and then to re-
move a thin layer of loess to find and leave in situ
the working areas or outdoor fireplaces of the oc-
cupation layer.
In the ancient soviet time the excavations of
dwellings was applied until the base of the founda-
tions of skulls, because all the dwellings were re-
moved at the end of excavation campaign. In the
current excavations at Gontsy, digging inside the
dwelling is carried out until the discovery of the in-
side soil hut and its hearth, through the tangle of col-
lapsed bone, which is a particularly delicate task that
can be performed only by an experienced team.
In addition, it is necessary to maintain a path to
access the structure during the stripping. As a re-
sult, the hut is had rarely been excavated complete-
ly. Unfortunately, small bones, tools, shells, statu-
ettes and objects of adornment (Iakovleva, 2006,
2009a, 2012), often abandoned inside the dwelling
or even hidden into the skulls cannot be detected
and therefore are left in place. As a result, inven-
tories as accurate they can be are incomplete and
provide an estimate limited to the general architec-
ture of the dwelling (tab. 1). Thus, in table 1, the
small fragments of scapulae, pelvis, alveoli, skulls,
molars and undetermined bone fragments were not
counted, to avoid a difficult reading.
A specific method for studying mammoth bone
dwellings. After excavation, the study of a dwell-
ing starts by a data acquisition phase with a precise
map per square meter with the most accurate possi-
ble archaeozoological determination of each bone
(species, sex and age range, accidental breakage,
voluntary modifications of bones for their integra-
tion or their clip in the construction, weathering
ISSN 0235-3490 (Print), ISSN 2616-499X (Online). Археологія, 2018, № 490
and traces of ochre or engravings). A 3D recording
by digital photogrammetry complete the manual
record (fig. 3). The altitudes of the top and bottom
of each bone are recorded too. A Harris diagram
is built by recording bone overlays, which indicate
their relative position in the collapse. Results that
are obtained provide information on the collapsing
process of the hut. They complete the stratigraphic
distribution maps obtained from the altitudes (up
and back of each bone).
Maps of spatial distribution for each category
of bones are then drawn, revealing the choices of
bone materials made for the construction: founda-
tions, wall, roofing, entry of the hut or inside posts,
skin fixing, etc.
The skulls are used as foundation and wall com-
ponents. Reindeer antlers are used in relation to
the roof. The tusks are used as wall component,
imbedded in the alveoli of the wall skulls, roofing
components and entry components. The scapulae,
pelvis, long bones and jaws are mainly components
of walls.
Once understanding the collapse of the hut
process, it is then possible to reconstitute one or
more scenarios for construction of the dwelling.
These studies should not underestimate the fact
that a dwelling could be partially removed and its
bones were reused to build or expand another one.
Building materials. The bones used in the con-
struction of a mammoth bone dwelling consist of
large bones and tusks of mammoths, as well as rein-
deer antlers and stones (slabs, pebbles). The shape
of the bones will play an important role in the
choice and location of these materials: long bone
(straight linear form), tusk (curved linear shape),
scapula, pelvis, alveoli (flat shape), skull (volume
shape), jaw (angular shape), sacrum, sternum (par-
allelepiped shape).
The selected mammoth bones are skulls, jaws,
alveoli, long bones (femur, humerus, radius, ulna,
tibia, fibula), scapula, pelvis, sternum, rib nr. 1 and
of course tusks.
These bones are recovered in the immediate vi-
cinity of the settlement from the carcasses of the
mammoth bone bed located in the gully (in fact the
settlement has been installed in the immediate vi-
cinity of the gully for the exploitation of the mam-
moth bone bed). So, these are bones of mammoths
from adult female, adolescents, children and new
born individuals. The human group has left in the
mammoth bone bed of the gully not useful bones for
building the dwelling: ribs, vertebrae, bones of feet
(phalanges, metapodes, carpal and tarsal bones,
patella) and hyoid bone. They show no weathering.
They procured both the bones of adults than the
bones of young individuals, according to the needs.
Examples of two bones from the same individual
located near one another in the construction are
numerous (for example two pelvis, two scapulae,
two tusks, two long bones of an easily recognizable
young individual).
The bones of adult male mammoths are also
present in the construction. They are the result of
outside procurement nearby the settlement and
they show traces of weathering.
The walls of the huts are all different in their
associations of bone materials and their geome-
try (stacks in direct or reverse V of jaws, overlays
of scapulae or pelvis, vertical parallel sets of long
bones, etc.) seems to be both the result of a process
of individualization and supply constraints.
General architecture of dwellings. Six mammoth
bone dwellings have been found at the settlement.
Except the small dwelling nr. 2, they have the same
architecture (Iakovleva, 2013, 2015).
The huts are oval or quasi-circular. They are of
variable size, approximately from four to eight me-
ters in diameter. They are built on foundations of
skulls imbedded into the ground by their alveoli, ac-
cording to an oval or circular plan. Then, the walls
are built with the large bones of the mammoth skel-
eton: the skulls, alveoli upwards to introduce tusks
or long bones, the V shape jaws overlaid each oth-
er, the vertically lined up long bones, the scapulae
and pelvis pressed against the wall. The bones are
generally modified in order to be fixed each other.
The long bones which are appointed or dug in the
epiphysis part, the tusks, the alveolae of the skulls
are pushed into each other to constitute long poles.
The scapulae and the pelvis are perforated and tied
together probably by tendons.
The bone walls are then sealed inside the hut
with the loess extracted from pits, to ensure sealing
and solidity. The elevation of the walls can reach
until 1.5 meters in height.
Several scenarios have been proposed in the liter-
ature for the elevation of the hut. These scenarios are
being studied for the dwellings of the Gontsy site.
The first scenario, known in reconstructions of
museums (including the Museum of Zoology in
Kyiv) proposed the reconstitution of a vault made
with bones and tusks of mammoths and a wide en-
try. The critics insist on the heaviness of a bone
vault, which could not hold only by sticks and in-
sertion of bones and tusks, and on the lack of real-
ism of a wide and high entry at the time of a glacial
climate.
A second scenario supposes a cover by reindeer
skins which rely on nested defenses and would be
weighted down by reindeer antlers.
ISSN 0235-3490 (Print), ISSN 2616-499X (Online). Археологія, 2018, № 4 91
A third scenario proposes the construction of a
horizontal ceiling of corbelled tusks on the top of
the walls regularized and hardened by the sealing
loess, covered with reindeer skins weighted down
by reindeer antlers. The last two scenarios are sup-
ported by the large number of tusks and reindeer
antlers often found in the center of the collapsed
huts.
Whatever the reconstitution, the role of the loess
fulfilling the mammoth bone walls is fundamental
to make the dwelling more solid and more protect-
ed against the cold temperature and the wind. It is
the reason why pits are dug in the vicinity of the
dwelling to procure the loess and after used for oth-
er functions. The loess fulfilling allows keeping vis-
ible the outdoor architecture of the bone walls.
The dwelling nr. 1. The dwelling nr. 1 is a cir-
cular hut, 5.5 meters in diameter, with founda-
tions and walls of mammoth bones. It has been re-
constituted to approximately 80%, from archives
(V.M. Scherbakivskyi, I.F. Levytskyi, V .I. Sergin)
and the results of our own excavations (Iakovleva
and Djindjian, 2014). The hut was built on a circu-
lar foundation of twenty-eight skulls of mammoths
and the walls were raised with large mammoth
bones, mainly with scapulae and pelvis, but also
a few jaws. An important role has been played by
the approximately 30 tusks of mammoths. The hut
was surrounded by nine pits and the small dwell-
ing nr. 2.
The dwelling nr. 2. The dwelling nr. 2, located to
the West of the previous dwelling, was discovered in
1998. It is exceptional by its small size and clarity of
its structure. It’s a small cup-shaped oval of dimen-
sions 3.0 × 1.8 m
2
, with its mammoth bone mate-
rials: a fragment of skull in a central position, a fe-
mur, a humerus, two large tusks of an adult male
mammoth with a length of 1.70 meters and alveoli
of skulls. Inside the dwelling, on the soil, have been
discovered a large hammer made of a reindeer male
antler, a pick of a carved young mammoth tusk, a
pelvis of a young mammoth bearing traces of ochre,
two tools on a mammoth rib and some flint tools.
The remains of consumption of marmot bones in-
dicate summer seasonality for the occupation. It is
the first small dwelling of this type discovered in a
Mezinian site of the Dnieper basin (fig. 4). A re-
constitution has been proposed for the dwelling.
Another structure, perhaps a top of a pit, dis-
covered in 2002, under the large hangar of protec-
tion, is located five meters north of the structure
nr. 1. E xcavated only partially, it is still too early
to recognize the area. It consists, for the emerged
part, of a skull, three pelvises, a femur, a humerus,
a scapula and three tusks of mammoths.
The dwelling nr. 3. The dwelling nr. 3, excavat-
ed from 2009 to 2015, is a large nearly circular hut
of dimensions 8.0 × 7.0 m
2
(fig. 5). It is character-
ized by a large number of tusks (69) and scapulae
(48 and 14 large fragments), and a reduced number
of pelvis (8), long bones (8) and skulls (11 and 8
large fragments). Four stones including a large pink
granite round pebble, a large black schist slab and
two other smaller slabs were found in the dwelling,
but no reindeer antlers.
The skulls (11 and 8 large fragments of which
some fragments of the same skull from a dozen of
individuals), are abnormally few in this dwelling.
They have been used as foundation skull (four of
them) and wall skulls. The jaws, molars and mo-
lars bladelets are associated with their skull. Many
scapulae (48) were found flat, often overlapping
each other (up to 4). Four were found placed on
the edge and one quilted. The south, southwest and
west walls seem to have been built with an accumu-
lation of scapulae that have switched to the inside
of the dwelling. The 8 pelvis have played the same
architectural role as the scapulae.
The very many tusks (65) are varied, adult, ad-
olescent and child age. Six adult male tusks are
present and show an aspect of weathering. Four
places of the dwelling are showing concentrations
of superposed tusks, in the center of the dwelling
but also in the outer edge, having switched inside
from walls. In the squares P6/O6, three isolated
tusks could mark the entrance of the hut.
The dwelling nr. 4. The dwelling nr. 4, excavated
in 2011, is a medium-sized oval hut, of dimensions
2.6 × 4.0 m
2
, with a long-axis East-West. It consists
of 15 skulls, 3 long bones including femur showing
the engraving of a female nested chevron, 9 pelvis,
14 scapulae and 24 tusks (fig. 6). The hut collapsed
inward. The most remarkable feature of this medi-
um-sized hut is that lacks foundation skulls, alveoli
imbedded in the ground. Skulls were raised alveoli
upwards and they have switched or slipped at the
time of the collapse of the hut. A second remark-
able feature is that the bones have rarely been mod-
ified. Tusks are mostly at the top of the entangle-
ment, but there are also fragments of pelvis, scapu-
lae and flat bones at the top. Skulls are pretty much
all at the same upper altitude while the scapulae are
at a lower altitude, often beneath the skulls.
The 15 skulls form an oval wall, being posed on
the ground, alveoli facing upwards. Eight scapulae,
four basins and two long bones were placed on the
sides of the walls. The tusks were located on the top
of the walls either corbelling over the skulls, prob-
ably to keep the skins as roof, or inserted in the al-
veoli as lateral arches to raise the hut and put on
ISSN 0235-3490 (Print), ISSN 2616-499X (Online). Археологія, 2018, № 492
the reindeer skins. 7 fragments of pelvis, scapulae,
and flat bones probably had a role of ballasting the
skin. Two tusks appeared to have been planted ver-
tically, or in both skulls hypothetically marking the
entrance of the hut.
The dwelling nr. 5. The dwelling nr. 5, excavated
from 2011 to 2013, is a large circular hut of 8 me-
ters in diameter (fig. 3 and 7). 46 skulls and 21 large
fragments of skulls, almost all of them are located
in the periphery as foundation skulls and wall skulls
having tipped inward. Most of foundation skulls of
the northern and eastern walls are made of skulls of
young and adolescent mammoths. A characteristic
feature of the dwelling architecture is the presence
of two large adult mammoth skulls and several frag-
ments of mammoth skulls showing a concentration
in the centre of the hut, as to make the foundations
of a central pillar.
The south and west walls are well preserved: in
addition to the skulls, they were built with 7 jaws
(including 5 grouped), 11 long bones, 4 pelvis and
4 scapulae. The northern and eastern walls are
however little supplied: only 1 long bone and 9 al-
veoli, owned at least in part to the skulls have been
found there.
Most scapulae, pelvis, long bones and tusks
were discovered inside the dwelling.
Several accumulations are remarkable:
- In the centre of the dwelling, at about 5 me-
ters (four squares K /L/15/14), the accumulation
of previously mentioned skulls, is associated with
all of the 14 reindeer antlers and 10 whole or quite
complete ribs, 5 long bones and very many tusks,
- Further to the north (in square L13), an accu-
mulation of seven basins and five long bones,
- The scapulae are concentrated, more than for-
ty of them, on eight square meters , inside the hut,
in the south, southeast and east inner quadrant,
- The 62 tusks (plus 6 half-tusks and 10 frag-
ments of tusks) are almost all of them (except 10
located in or near the walls), located inside the hut
in the circular central area of four meters in diam-
eter,
- 5 grouped jaws form a figure of chevron-zig-
zag in a part of the south wall of the dwelling. A re-
markable feature of this composition is the position
of a jaw upon the skull of a newborn mammoth,
- 10 stones (granite pebbles and schist slabs)
have been found inside the dwelling, but are not
showing any particular concentration,
- Several large ochre balls were found outside
the hut, two against the east wall (square H16) and
another against the west wall (square O1),
A pit is located in the North-East of the dwell-
ing (G10/G11). The inventory is constituted by
a skull (female adult), a tusk (female adult), two
tusks (from a single very young mammoth) and one
scapula.
The dwelling nr. 6. The dwelling nr. 6 was dis-
covered in 2015 and excavated 2015-2016. It is lo-
Fig. 7. The dwellings nr. 4, 5 and 6. Photo by L. Iakovleva, F. Djindjian
ISSN 0235-3490 (Print), ISSN 2616-499X (Online). Археологія, 2018, № 4 93
cated to the north from the dwelling nr. 3 and to
the west from the dwelling nr. 4 (fig. 7). It is an oval
structure, with a north-south large axis and dimen-
sions 4.0 × 2.6 m2. The inventory includes 7 skulls
(and 14 fragments), 31 tusks, 10 scapulae, 8 pel-
vis, 4 long bones, 2 reindeer antlers and 2 scapu-
lae of bison. Two outdoor hearths are located to the
North and to the South-East from the dwelling.
A large pit in the N orth (containing 30 bones
of mammoths and several bison bone) complement
the periphery of this dwelling.
In the northern area of the dwelling 5 and the
dwelling 6 (and its associated pit), is located a large
working area with probably outdoor hearths, which
seems to be the area symmetric to one in the south-
ern part of the settlement.
Conclusions
The mammoth bone dwellings of the Gontsy site have
the characteristic architecture of the dwellings of the
other known Mezinian sites in Mezine, Ioudinovo,
Mejiriche, Dobranichivka and Suponevo (Iakovleva,
2009b, 2015; Djindjian, 2014). The dwelling nr. 5 of
the Gontsy site has similarities (by its large dimension
and parts of building) with the dwellings of Kostienki
11. All the dwellings, however, show great variability
in their dimensions, supplying of the bones, location
in the walls and in the solutions of closing of the roof.
Such variability has several origins: the different
technical solutions of construction of the walls and
the roof, the availability of bones supply from nearby
accumulation, aesthetic differentiation of the walls
for means of identification, and also, in some cases,
reuse, rearrangements or modifications of the
buildings. The detailed study, hut by hut, which is
ongoing, will allow for each of them, to reconstitute
the collapsing process and the construction process,
including its elevation.
For the first time, in the history of the excava-
tions of mammoth bone dwellings, with the meth-
od of conservation in situ under large hangars for
protection, all the archaeological layers and dwell-
ing structures: mammoth bone dwellings (nr. 3, 4, 5
and 6), pits, hearths, working areas, dumping are-
as, butchering areas, are preserved for the prepara-
tion of a future site museum in Gontsy, open to the
public. The dwelling nr. 2 will be reconstituted in its
exact location. They also provide a unique oppor-
tunity of in-depth, additional and repeated studies,
and reconstitutions by acquisition and restitution
3D programs as well as the conservation in situ of
exceptional and unique hunter-gatherer campsite
architecture of the humanity heritage!
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Received 23.03.2018
Lioudmila Iakovleva 1, François Djindjian 2
1 Institute of Archaeology NAS Ukraine & UMR 7041 ArScAn
2 UMR 7041 ArScAn, UISPP, CIPSH
THE MAMMOTH BONE DWELLINGS OF THE UPPER PALAEOLITHIC SETTLEMENT
OF GONTSY (Ukraine: a First Synthesis)
The article is devoted to the first synthesis informing the location of the dwellings in the Upper Palaeolithic site Gontsy,
their size and architecture, and provides a provisional inventory of their components. There were discovered six mammoth
bone huts, five of which were revealed during the French-Ukrainian excavations in progress since 1993. For the first time,
it may be given a comprehensive reconstruction of a campsite and all the activities made by hunters during their occupation
at the site. The six mammoth bone dwellings of various dimensions are described here for the first time, for a preliminary
synthesis.
The history of the Gontsy site excavations is given. The first excavations by narrow trenches were carried out in 1873.
The first step has concerned the excavations of the mammoth bone bed (1995-2000) and the stratigraphic connections with
the dwelling area.
The description of all the dwellings is also given by the author, as well as the notes about a specific method for studying
mammoth bone dwellings. A s to the author, after excavation, the study of a dwelling starts by a data acquisition phase
with a precise map per square meter with the most accurate possible archaeozoological determination of each bone. A 3D
recording by digital photogrammetry complete the manual record.
For the first time, in the history of the excavations of mammoth bone dwellings, with the method of conservation in
situ under large hangars for protection, all the archaeological layers and dwelling structures: mammoth bone dwellings,
pits, hearths, working areas, dumping areas, butchering areas, are preserved for the preparation of a future site museum in
Gontsy, open to the public.
K e y w o r d s : upper palaeolithic, mammoth, settlement, dwellings.
|
| id | arheologia-com-ua-article-45 |
| institution | Chemistry, Physics and Technology of Surface |
| issn | 2616-499X |
| keywords_txt_mv | |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-08-07T01:01:21Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Institute of Archaeology NAS of Ukraine |
| record_format | ojs |
| resource_txt_mv | arheologiacomua/ff/d2c1ec31e078303de5214da5fb58abff.pdf |
| spelling | arheologia-com-ua-article-452020-01-19T08:38:12Z The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) Iakovleva, Lioudmila Djindjian, François upper palaeolithic, mammoth, settlement, dwellings. The article is devoted to the first synthesis informing the location of the dwellings in the Upper Palaeolithic site Gontsy, their size and architecture, and provides a provisional inventory of their components. There were discovered six mammoth bone huts, five of which were revealed during the French-Ukrainian excavations in progress since 1993. For the first time, it may be given a comprehensive reconstruction of a campsite and all the activities made by hunters during their occupation at the site. The six mammoth bone dwellings of various dimensions are described here for the first time, for a preliminary synthesis. The history of the Gontsy site excavations is given. The first excavations by narrow trenches were carried out in 1873. The first step has concerned the excavations of the mammoth bone bed (1995—2000) and the stratigraphic connections with the dwelling area. The description of all the dwellings is also given by the author, as well as the notes about a specific method for studying mammoth bone dwellings. As to the author, after excavation, the study of a dwelling starts by a data acquisition phase with a precise map per square meter with the most accurate possible archaeozoological determination of each bone. A 3D recording by digital photogrammetry complete the manual record. For the first time, in the history of the excavations of mammoth bone dwellings, with the method of conservation in situ under large hangars for protection, all the archaeological layers and dwelling structures: mammoth bone dwellings, pits, hearths, working areas, dumping areas, butchering areas, are preserved for the preparation of a future site museum in Gontsy, open to the public. Institute of Archaeology NAS of Ukraine 2018-12-22 Article Article application/pdf https://arheologia.com.ua/index.php/arheologia/article/view/45 10.15407/archaeologyua2018.04.086 Arheologia; No 4 (2018): Arheologia; 86-94 Археологія ; № 4 (2018): Археологія; 86-94 Археология; № 4 (2018): Arheologia; 86-94 2616-499X 0235-3490 10.15407/archaeologyua2018.04 en https://arheologia.com.ua/index.php/arheologia/article/view/45/42 |
| spellingShingle | Iakovleva, Lioudmila Djindjian, François The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) |
| title | The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) |
| title_alt | The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) |
| title_full | The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) |
| title_fullStr | The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) |
| title_short | The Mammoth Bone Dwellings of the Upper Palaeolithic Settlement of Gontsy (Ukraine: a First Synthesis) |
| title_sort | mammoth bone dwellings of the upper palaeolithic settlement of gontsy (ukraine: a first synthesis) |
| topic_facet | upper palaeolithic mammoth settlement dwellings. |
| url | https://arheologia.com.ua/index.php/arheologia/article/view/45 |
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