In the icy expanses of southwestern Russia, a huge circular structure built entirely with Mammut bones and Zanne has been going for over 24,000 years. Located on the archaeological site of Kostenki 11, this extraordinary construction represents one of the most enigmatic testimonies of the glacial era.
Has the scholars long debated on its function: was it a home, a ceremonial site or had a purpose still unknown? Now, a new analysis of the DNA taken from 39 bones of 30 mammoths offers precious clues about the life of these ancient hunters and on the way they used the remains of the animals.
The website of Kostenki 11located near the Don Don, about 300 kilometers from Moscow, is one of the most important of theHigh European Paleolithic. Here, archaeologists found several circular structures made with bones of woolly mammothsome of which exceed the 12 meters in diameter.
And Kostenki 11 is not an isolated case: beyond 70 similar structures They were discovered in Russia and Ukraine, generating a heated debate among scholars. One of the key questions concerns the origin of the bones: did they come from Mammut hunted recently or had they been collected by carcasses already present in the environment?
To answer this question, an international team of researchers conducted Dating analysis to the radioocarbonstudying the DNA Ancient they stable isotopes Present in the bones, thus reconstructing the history of mammoths and their use by prehistoric humans.
The analyzes revealed that the bones come from mammoths lived in very different periods. Some specimens were died over a thousand years earlier to be used in the construction of the structure. This means that the ancient inhabitants of the region did not limit themselves to hunting mammoths, but also collected bones from pre -existing carcasses.
Another fascinating element is the presence of large pit Around circular structures, which may have been used to preserve food or dispose of waste. The investigations conducted by the team led by Alexander Pryorof the University of Exeter (United Kingdom), identified 51 Mandabole and 64 Mammut skulls employed in the construction of the walls.
The researchers have worked on the site for years, using the technique of floating… A method that uses water and sifts to separate organic remains and artifacts from the ground – I aim to recover every detail of prehistoric life in this region.
Life in the structure: traces of fire, stone tools and vegetable remains
In addition to the mammoth bones, the excavations led to light Carbone, burned bones and fragments of stone toolssuggesting that fires were turned on inside the structure, probably to cook and warm up in very rigid glacial nights.
Remains of soft vegetable fabrics They indicate that the populations of the time integrated their diet with plants, as well as consuming meat. According to climatic reconstructions, the average temperature at the time of the construction of the structure could drop under -20 ° Cmaking the presence of a refuge and heat sources essential.
Curiously, the bones do not show evident signs of slaughter, which suggests that prehistoric hunters they removed the meat before carrying the bonesleaving only small residues destined to decompose.
An unexpected predominance of females
The analysis of the DNA of 30 mammoths led to a surprising discovery: most of the specimens were females. This figure differs from that of other mammoth sites, where there are usually more remains of males.
Scientists speculate that the specimens of Kostenki 11 belonged to Branchi led by Matriarchejust as it happens in the current populations of elephants. Furthermore, the identification of Seven different mitochondrial lines suggests that the animals did not all come from the same family group, strengthening the hypothesis that the bones were collected during many generationsrather than in a single hunting event.
The isotopic analysis of the bones also revealed Simi in the eating habits between males and femalesan aspect that differs from modern elephants, in which males tend to explore wider territories and diversify their diet. This suggests that the Paleolithic mammoths had a distinct social behavior compared to their contemporary descendants.
The fact that the bones have been collected over the centuries suggests that circular structures were not built in a single phase, but reused and expanded over time. This data challenges the traditional idea that the communities of hunter-rackers were constantly nomadic: although they moved in search of resources, some places served by stable bases or ritual meeting pointsperhaps linked to astronomical events such as Equinoxes and solstices.
While the excavations continue, the structure of Kostenki 11 One of the most fascinating testimonies of the ability and ingenuity of our ancestors is confirmed. In a world dominated by the frost and the scarcity of resources, these groups succeeded in human history.
