Remains of large mammals from the Epigravettian site of Yudinovo

M.V. Sablin and K.Yu. Iltsevich

Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 2021, 325(1): 71–81 · https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2021.325.1.71

Full text

Abstract

The Epigravettian site of Yudinovo (Bryansk oblast, Russia) was discovered in 1930 by K.M. Polikarpovich. It is located in the Sudost’ river valley and has a unique stratigraphy. This article presents the results of the study of the remains of large mammals from Yudinovo and also discusses their significance in revising the former interpretation of the existence of the site during the very end of the final part of the Late Pleistocene. In total, 38 268 mammalian bones were identified from cultural layers excavated between 1947–2019. The faunal assemblage is relatively small with a dominance of woolly mammoth and arctic fox, typical of a cold and dry tundra-steppe environment. We undertook stable isotopic tracking from samples of bones. Our analyses confirm the hunting of both adult and juvenile larger mammals by ancient humans. Based on the eruption sequence and wear of the milk teeth from young animals, we were able to clarify the season of their death. It seems that these individuals were hunted during the late spring or early autumn. Traces of gnawing by dogs were recorded on a few bones. We also present in this article the results of the study of so-called “dwellings”, constructed by stacking up body parts and bones that were extracted from carcasses of freshly killed mammoths. We interpret these structures as middens representing the remains of ritually deposited hunted game. It can be assumed that these “dwellings” were probably an important part of the socio-symbolic system of the peoples, who created them.

Key words

faunal assemblage, large mammals, Late Pleistocene, mammoth hunting, Sudost’ river valley, Yudinovo

Submitted October 9, 2020 · Accepted November 30, 2020 · Published March 25, 2021

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