Life and occupations of primitive people of the Stone Age. Life of cavemen in the Stone and Ancient Ages Life in the Stone Age

The Stone Age went through three main stages in its development:

1) Ancient Stone, or Paleolithic, which is divided into three periods - early (Acheulean), middle (Mousterian) and late (Aurignacian, Solutre, Madeleine) Paleolithic 2) middle stone Age, or Mesolithic; 3) New Stone Age (Neolithic and Chalcolithic).

Early Paleolithic. This period is characterized by the formation of man and human society, as well as the appearance of the first tools. The earliest people lived in primitive herds. Man used natural sources of food, limiting himself to gathering and hunting. In Central Asia, choppers were mainly common - rough chopping tools, i.e. massive pieces of stone-pebbles, hewn from one side, less often from both sides. With their help, ancient man could dig up roots, catch animals, cut, stab, etc. The physical type of Early Paleolithic man is represented by archanthropus /ancient man/, varieties of which are Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus.

Middle Paleolithic /Mousterian/. The cooling that began as a result of the spread of sudden glaciation forced ancient people to improve hunting, adapting it for hunting large animals. During the Mousterian era, ancient people began to use grottoes and caves for housing, and primitive clothing made from skins. One of the most important achievements was the invention in various ways making fire. The man learned to make a spear and a spear. Ancient people begin to unite into larger groups, in which the beginnings of a tribal structure and division of labor by gender appear. Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus are replaced by Neanderthal, which is a transitional step to man modern look and was tall, walked upright, and had a more developed brain.

Upper Paleolithic, Late Paleolithic. Along with the technique of chipping, the technique of squeezing retouching appears when processing stone; drilling appears, mainly in bone, sometimes in stone. Sharp thin knives, scrapers, piercers, and cutters are widely used. An important invention that contributed to the development of hunting was the creation of the dart and spear thrower - the predecessor of the bow and arrow. Features of the Upper Paleolithic were the emergence of fishing and the construction of long-term winter dwellings. In the Late Paleolithic era, the primitive herd was replaced by a maternal clan community, which was an exogamous group of people. The stage in human history when clan communities united around a woman-mother was called matriarchy.

Mesolithic. The most important inventions of the era were composite tools - an ax, as a result of the addition of handles to a chopper, a bow and arrows, which led to an increase in the role of single hunters. A new technique arose - grinding, first of bone, and at the end of the period - of stone. During the Mesolithic era, people began to domesticate animals: dogs, lambs, deer, goats, cats, pigs. New branches of the economy are emerging: hoe farming, cattle breeding. The Mesolithic period dates back to the wide distribution of colorful rock carvings made with red ocher. Shirabad district of Surkhandarya region/.

Neolithic. The Neolithic era became a transitional period from the appropriating economy of hunting and gathering to the producing economy - agriculture and cattle breeding. Man learned to make a boat, which contributed to the development of shipping. In the Neolithic era, matriarchy reached its peak in its development. The matriarchal clan community concentrates all production functions in its hands, and a paired family arises.

The Paleolithic is the most important cultural and historical period of the Stone Age. It got its name due to the fact that the main material for making tools was stone. The Paleolithic era had great importance for all humanity, since during this period the necessary experience, knowledge and qualities were accumulated that allowed it to develop into a modern form.

Characteristic features of the Paleolithic

The history of human origin is characterized by a long time span. Thanks to archaeological excavations, scientists were able to establish the main stages of human evolution, the most important inventions and problems that were characteristic of each period.

The Paleolithic is an important historical period during which the formation of man took place, the formation primitive society.

In the Paleolithic era, natural and climatic conditions, flora and fauna were significantly different from modern ones. People lived in small communities, using stone tools for their daily needs. At that time, they were not yet able to polish stone or use other hard rocks, but they learned to use wood, leather, and bones for their purposes.

Rice. 1. Stone tools.

The entire era is characterized by an appropriating economy: primitive people provided themselves with food through gathering and hunting. Cattle breeding and agriculture were not yet known, and fishing was just beginning to develop. The most important achievement of man in the Paleolithic era was the appearance of speech.

TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this

The Paleolithic is the longest stage of the Stone Age, which, for greater convenience, was divided by scientists into three main eras:

• Lower (Early) Paleolithic;
• Middle Paleolithic;
• Upper (Late) Paleolithic.

All Paleolithic eras differ significantly from each other in the methods of making tools and weapons, their forms, and anthropological characteristics.

Early Paleolithic

This is the initial and longest era of the Paleolithic, which is characterized by the appearance of the first ape-like man - Archanthropus. He was distinguished by his short stature, sloping chin and clearly defined brow ridges.

The most important achievements of this period include:

• the beginning of the use of homemade stone tools;
• use of fire - the archanthrope could already maintain fire, but had not yet learned how to make it.

Middle Paleolithic

Throughout the Middle Paleolithic, there was a gradual development and improvement of the abilities of Homo erectus. In the course of evolution there appeared the new kind- a Neanderthal, whose brain volume was already much closer to modern man. He was also distinguished by his massive build and tall stature.

Rice. 2. Neanderthal.

The Middle Paleolithic is an era of survival, because life primitive people took place against the backdrop of extremely harsh climatic conditions, during the Ice Age.

The Middle Paleolithic era is characterized by the following features:

• making fire yourself by cutting it out;
• the emergence of new types of tools: knives, spears, arrowheads, scrapers;
• improvement of social organization - people unite in large groups, take care of the elderly;
• the origin of primitive art - the appearance of the very first rock paintings.

Late Paleolithic

This period was marked by the appearance of the Cro-Magnon man - an ancient man who outwardly had much in common with modern man. He had a high forehead, a well-defined chin, and developed fine motor skills in his hands.

The main achievements of the Late Paleolithic include:

• making primitive boats;
• weaving baskets from willow twigs;
• making bone needles used to sew clothes;
• active development of art: rock painting, making primitive figurines from mammoth bones and tusks;
• domestication of wild animals, the first of which was the dog;
• determining time using the lunar and solar calendars;
• replacement of primitive society with a tribal community;
• making pottery.

Rice. 3. Rock painting.

On the territory of Russia, sites of primitive people of the Paleolithic era were found in the settlements of Sungir, Kostenki, Karacharovo, and some others. Valuable archaeological finds helped scientists restore the way of life and farming features of distant ancestors.

Primitive history dates back to the Stone Age, which was replaced by the Bronze Age, and then the Iron Age. These stages of human development were of great importance because they predetermined the formation of modern society.

Table of centuries

What have we learned?

When studying the topic “Paleolithic” we learned what period of time the Paleolithic era occupied and into what periods it was divided. We got acquainted with the characteristics of the periods, found out how human development occurred during the Paleolithic years, what were its most important achievements.

Test on the topic

Evaluation of the report

Average rating: 4.3. Total ratings received: 525.

Story human life on the planet began when man picked up a tool and used his mind to survive. During its existence, humanity has gone through several major stages in the development of its social system. Each era is characterized by its own way of life, artifacts and tools.

Stone Age History- the longest and most ancient page of humanity known to us, which is characterized by fundamental changes in the worldview and way of life of people.

Features of the Stone Age:

• humanity has spread throughout the planet;
• all tools of labor were created by people from what was provided the world: wood, stones, various parts killed animals (bones, skin);
• the formation of the first social and economic structures of society;
• the beginning of animal domestication.

Historical chronology of the Stone Age

It is difficult for a person in a world where an iPhone becomes obsolete in a month to understand how people used the same primitive tools for centuries and millennia. The Stone Age is the longest era known to us. Its beginning is attributed to the emergence of the first people about 3 million years ago and it lasts until people invented ways to use metals.

Rice. 1 - Chronology of the Stone Age

Archaeologists divide the history of the Stone Age into several main stages, which are worth considering in more detail. It is important to note that the dates of each period are very approximate and controversial, and therefore may differ in different sources.

Paleolithic

During this period, people lived together in small tribes and used stone tools. Their food source was gathering plants and hunting wild animals. At the end of the Paleolithic, the first religious beliefs into the forces of nature (paganism). Also, the end of this period is characterized by the appearance of the first works of art (dancing, singing and painting). Most likely, primitive art stemmed from religious rituals.

The climate, which was characterized by temperature changes, had a great influence on humanity at that time: from the Ice Age to warming and vice versa. The unstable climate has changed several times.

Mesolithic

The beginning of that period is associated with the final retreat of the Ice Age, which led to adaptation to new living conditions. The weapons used were greatly improved: from massive tools to miniature microliths that made everyday life easier. This also includes the domestication of dogs by humans.

Neolithic

The New Stone Age was a big step in the development of mankind. During this time, people learned not only to obtain, but also to grow food, using improved tools for cultivating the land, harvesting and cutting meat.

For the first time, people began to unite in large groups to create significant stone structures, such as Stonehenge. This indicates sufficient resources and the ability to negotiate. The latter is also supported by the emergence of trade between different settlements.

The Stone Age is a long and primitive period of human existence. But it was precisely this period that became the cradle in which man learned to think and create.

In details stone age history reviewed in lecture courses given below.

Stone Age of Humanity

Man differs from all living beings on Earth in that from the very beginning of his history he actively created an artificial habitat around himself and used various technical means, which are called tools. With their help, he obtained food for himself - hunting, fishing and gathering, built homes for himself, made clothes and household utensils, created religious buildings and works of art.

The Stone Age is the oldest and longest period in human history, characterized by the use of stone as the main solid material for the manufacture of tools intended to solve human life support problems.

To make various tools and other necessary products, people used not only stone, but other hard materials:

• volcanic glass,
• bone,
• tree,
• as well as plastic materials of animal and plant origin (animal hides and skins, plant fibers, and later fabrics).

In the final period of the Stone Age, in the Neolithic, the first artificial material created by man, ceramics, became widespread. The exceptional strength of the stone allows products made from it to be preserved for hundreds of thousands of years. Bone, wood and other organic materials, as a rule, are not preserved for so long, and therefore, for the study of especially remote periods in time, stone products become, due to their mass production and good preservation, the most important source.

Chronological framework of the Stone Age

The chronological framework of the Stone Age is very wide - it begins about 3 million years ago (the time of the separation of man from the animal world) and lasts until the appearance of metal (about 8-9 thousand years ago Ancient East and about 6-5 thousand years ago in Europe). The duration of this period of human existence, which is called prehistory and protohistory, correlates with the duration of “written history” in the same way as a day with a few minutes or the size of Everest and a tennis ball. Such important achievements of mankind as the appearance of the first social institutions and certain economic structures, and, in fact, the formation of man himself as a completely special biosocial being, date back to the Stone Age.

In archaeological science stone Age It is customary to divide it into several main stages:

• ancient Stone Age - Paleolithic (3 million years BC - 10 thousand years BC);
• middle - (10-9 thousand - 7 thousand years BC);
• new - Neolithic (6-5 thousand - 3 thousand years BC).

The archaeological periodization of the Stone Age is associated with changes in the stone industry: each period is characterized by unique methods of primary splitting and subsequent secondary processing of stone, which results in the widespread distribution of very specific sets of products and their distinct specific types.

The Stone Age correlates with the geological periods of the Pleistocene (which also goes by the names: Quaternary, Anthropocene, Glacial and dates from 2.5-2 million years to 10 thousand years BC) and Holocene (from 10 thousand years to AD up to and including our time). The natural conditions of these periods played significant role in the formation and development of ancient human societies.

Study of the Stone Age

Interest in collecting and studying prehistoric antiquities, especially stone artifacts, has existed for a long time. However, even in the Middle Ages, and even during the Renaissance, their origin was most often attributed to natural phenomena(the so-called thunder arrows, hammers, and axes were known everywhere). Only to mid-19th century c., thanks to the accumulation of new information obtained through ever-expanding construction work, and the associated development of geology, the further development of natural sciences, the idea of ​​material evidence of the existence of “antediluvian man” acquired the status of a scientific doctrine. An important contribution to the formation of scientific ideas about the Stone Age as the “childhood of humanity” was made by a variety of ethnographic data, and the results of the study of cultures were especially often used North American Indians which began in the 18th century. along with widespread colonization North America and developed in the 19th century.

The “system of three centuries” by K.Yu. also had a huge influence on the formation of Stone Age archeology. Thomsen - I.Ya. Vorso. However, only the creation of evolutionary periodizations in history and anthropology (cultural-historical periodization of L.G. Morgan, sociological of I. Bachofen, religious of G. Spencer and E. Taylor, anthropological of Charles Darwin), numerous joint geological and archaeological studies of various Paleolithic monuments Western Europe(J. Boucher de Pert, E. Larte, J. Lebbock, I. Keller) led to the creation of the first periodizations of the Stone Age - the division of the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras. In the last quarter of the XIX century, thanks to the discovery of Paleolithic cave art, numerous anthropological finds of the Pleistocene age, especially thanks to the discovery of E. Dubois on the island of Java of the remains of an ape-man, evolutionary theories prevailed in understanding the patterns of human development in the Stone Age. However, developing archeology required the use of archaeological terms and criteria when creating a periodization of the Stone Age. The first such classification, evolutionary in its core and operating in special archaeological terms, was proposed by the French archaeologist G. de Mortillier, who distinguished the early (lower) and late (upper) Paleolithic, divided into four stages. This periodization became very widespread, and after its expansion and addition by the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras, also divided into successive stages, it acquired a dominant position in Stone Age archeology for quite a long time.

Mortilier's periodization was based on the idea of ​​the sequence of stages and periods of development material culture and the uniformity of this process for all humanity. The revision of this periodization dates back to the middle of the 20th century.

The further development of Stone Age archeology is also associated with such important scientific movements as geographical determinism (which explains many aspects of the development of society by the influence of natural geographical conditions) diffusionism (which placed, along with the concept of evolution, the concept of cultural diffusion, i.e. spatial movement cultural phenomena). Within the framework of these directions, a galaxy of major scientists of their time worked (L.G. Morgan, G. Ratzel, E. Reclus, R. Virchow, F. Kossina, A. Graebner, etc.), who made a significant contribution to the formulation of the basic postulates of the science of Stone Age. In the 20th century new schools are appearing, reflecting, in addition to those listed above, ethnological, sociological, structuralist trends in the study of this ancient era.

Currently, the study of the natural environment, which has a great influence on the life of human groups, has become an integral part of archaeological research. This is quite natural, especially if we remember that from the very moment of its appearance, primitive (prehistoric) archeology, having originated among representatives of the natural sciences - geologists, paleontologists, anthropologists - was closely connected with the natural sciences.

The main achievement of Stone Age archeology in the 20th century. was the creation of clear ideas that various archaeological complexes (tools, weapons, jewelry, etc.) characterize different groups of people who, being at different stages of development, can coexist simultaneously. This denies the crude scheme of evolutionism, which assumes that all humanity rises through the same steps at the same time. The work of Russian archaeologists played a major role in formulating new postulates about the existence of cultural diversity in the development of mankind.

In the last quarter of the 20th century. In Stone Age archeology, a number of new directions have been formed on an international scientific basis, combining traditional archaeological and complex paleoecological and computer research methods, which involve the creation of complex spatial models of environmental management systems and the social structure of ancient societies.

Paleolithic

Division into eras

The Paleolithic is the longest stage of the Stone Age; it covers the time from the Upper Pliocene to the Holocene, i.e. all Pleistocene (Anthropogen, glacial or Quaternary) geological period. Traditionally, the Paleolithic is divided into –

1. early, or lower, including the following eras:
   • (about 3 million - 800 thousand years ago),
   • ancient, middle and late (800 thousand - 120-100 thousand years ago)
   • (120-100 thousand - 40 thousand years ago),
2. upper, or (40 thousand - 12 thousand years ago).

It should, however, be emphasized that the chronological framework given above is rather arbitrary, since many issues have not been studied fully enough. This is especially true of the boundaries between the Mousterian and the Upper Paleolithic, the Upper Paleolithic and the Mesolithic. In the first case, the difficulties in identifying a chronological boundary are associated with the duration of the process of settlement of modern people, who brought new techniques for processing stone raw materials, and their long coexistence with Neanderthals. Accurately identifying the boundary between the Paleolithic and Mesolithic is even more difficult, since sudden changes in natural conditions, which led to significant changes in material culture, occurred extremely unevenly and had different character in different geographical areas. However, modern science has adopted a conventional boundary - 10 thousand years BC. e. or 12 thousand years ago, which is accepted by most scientists.

All Paleolithic eras differ significantly from each other both in anthropological characteristics and in the methods of making basic tools and their forms. Throughout the Paleolithic, the physical type of man was formed. In the Early Paleolithic there were various groups of representatives of the genus Homo ( N. habilis, N. ergaster, N. erectus, N. antesesst, H. Heidelbergensis, N. neardentalensis- according to the traditional scheme: archanthropes, paleoanthropes and Neanderthals), the Upper Paleolithic corresponded to the neoanthropus - Homo sapiens, all modern humanity belongs to this species.

Tools

Mousterian tools - burins and scrapers. Found near Amiens, France.

Due to the vast distance in time, many materials that were used by people, especially organic ones, are not preserved. Therefore, as mentioned above, for studying the lifestyle of ancient people, one of the most important sources is stone tools. From all the variety of rocks, man chose those that give a sharp cutting edge when split. Due to its wide distribution in nature and its inherent physical qualities, flint and other siliceous rocks became such materials.

No matter how primitive the ancient stone tools were, it is quite obvious that their production required abstract thinking and the ability to perform a complex chain of sequential actions. Various types of activities are recorded in the shapes of the working blades of tools, in the form of traces on them, and make it possible to judge the labor operations that ancient people performed.

To make the necessary things from stone, auxiliary tools were required:

• bumpers,
• intermediaries,
• push-ups,
• retouchers,
• anvils, which were also made of bone, stone, and wood.

Another equally important source that allows us to obtain a variety of information and reconstruct the life of ancient human groups is the cultural layer of monuments, which is formed as a result of the life activities of people in a certain place. It includes the remains of hearths and residential buildings, traces labor activity in the form of accumulations of splintered stone and bone. Remains of animal bones provide evidence of human hunting activity.

The Paleolithic is the time of the formation of man and society; during this period, the first social formation took shape - the primitive communal system. The entire era was characterized by an appropriating economy: people obtained their means of subsistence by hunting and gathering.

Geological epochs and glaciations

The Paleolithic corresponds to the end of the geological period of the Pliocene and the entire geological period of the Pleistocene, which began about two million years ago and ended around the turn of the 10th millennium BC. e. Its early stage is called the Eiopleistocene, it ends about 800 thousand years ago. Already the Eiopleistocene, and especially the middle and late Pleistocene, is characterized by a series of sharp cold snaps and the development of cover glaciations, occupying a significant part of the land. For this reason, the Pleistocene is called the Ice Age; its other names, often used in specialized literature, are Quaternary or Anthropocene.

Table. Correlations between the Paleolithic and Pleistocene periods.

The table shows the relationship between the main stages of archaeological periodization and the stages of the Ice Age, in which 5 main glaciations are distinguished (according to the Alpine scheme, adopted as an international standard) and the intervals between them, usually called interglacials. The terms are often used in the literature glacial(glaciation) and interglacial(interglacial). Within each glaciation (glacial) there are colder periods called stadials and warmer ones called interstadials. The name of the interglacial (interglacial) consists of the names of two glaciations, and its duration is determined by their time boundaries, for example, the Riess-Würm interglacial lasts from 120 to 80 thousand years ago.

Glaciation eras were characterized by significant cooling and the development of ice cover over large areas of land, which led to a sharp drying of the climate and changes in the flora and fauna. On the contrary, during the interglacial era there was a significant warming and humidification of the climate, which also caused corresponding changes in the environment. Ancient man depended to a huge extent on the natural conditions surrounding him, so their significant changes required fairly rapid adaptation, i.e. flexible change of methods and means of life support.

At the beginning of the Pleistocene, despite the onset of global cooling, a fairly warm climate remained - not only in Africa and the equatorial belt, but even in the southern and central regions of Europe, Siberia and Far East Broad-leaved forests grew. These forests were home to such heat-loving animals as the hippopotamus, southern elephant, rhinoceros and saber-toothed tiger (mahairod).

Günz was separated from the Mindel, the first very serious glaciation for Europe, by a large interglacial, which was relatively warm. The ice of the Mindel glaciation reached the mountain ranges in southern Germany, and in Russia - to the upper reaches of the Oka and the middle reaches of the Volga. On the territory of Russia this glaciation is called Oka. There were some changes in the composition of the animal world: heat-loving species began to die out, and in areas located closer to the glacier, cold-loving animals appeared - the musk ox and the reindeer.

This was followed by a warm interglacial era - the Mindelris interglacial - which preceded the Ris (Dnieper for Russia) glaciation, which was the maximum. In the territory European Russia The ice of the Dnieper glaciation, having divided into two tongues, reached the area of ​​the Dnieper rapids and approximately the area of ​​the modern Volga-Don Canal. The climate has cooled significantly, cold-loving animals have spread:

• mammoths,
• woolly rhinoceroses,
• wild horses,
• bison,
• tours.

Cave predators:

• cave bear,
• cave lion,
• cave hyena.

Lived in periglacial areas

• reindeer,
• musk ox,
• arctic fox

The Riess-Würm interglacial - a time of very favorable climatic conditions - was replaced by the last great glaciation of Europe - the Würm or Valdai glaciation.

The last - Würm (Valdai) glaciation (80-12 thousand years ago) was shorter than the previous ones, but much more severe. Although the ice covered a significantly smaller area, capturing Eastern Europe Valdai Upland, the climate was much drier and colder. A feature of the animal world of the Würm period was the mixing in the same territories of animals characteristic of different landscape zones in our time. Mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, the musk ox existed next to the bison, red deer, horse, and saiga. Common predators were cave and brown bears, lions, wolves, arctic foxes, and wolverines. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the boundaries of landscape zones, compared to modern ones, were greatly shifted to the south.

By the end ice age The development of the culture of ancient people reached a level that allowed them to adapt to new, much more harsh conditions of existence. Recent geological and archaeological studies have shown that the first stages of human development of the lowland territories of the Arctic fox, lemming, and cave bear in the European part of Russia belong specifically to the cold eras of the late Pleistocene. Settlement pattern primitive man on the territory of Northern Eurasia was determined not so much climatic conditions as much as the character of the landscape. Most often, Paleolithic hunters settled in the open spaces of the tundra-steppes in the permafrost zone, and in the southern steppes-forest-steppes - outside it. Even during the maximum cooling period (28-20 thousand years ago), people did not leave their traditional habitats. The fight against the harsh nature of the glacial period had a great impact on cultural development Paleolithic man.

The final cessation of glacial phenomena dates back to the 10th-9th millennia BC. With the retreat of the glacier, the Pleistocene era ends, followed by the Holocene - the modern geological period. Along with the retreat of the glacier to the extreme northern borders of Eurasia, natural conditions characteristic of the modern era began to form.

Charity wall newspaper for schoolchildren, parents and teachers “Briefly and clearly about the most interesting things.” Issue 90, February 2016.

Wall newspapers of the charitable educational project “Briefly and clearly about the most interesting things” (site site) are intended for schoolchildren, parents and teachers of St. Petersburg. They ship free to most educational institutions, as well as to a number of hospitals, orphanages and other institutions in the city. The project's publications do not contain any advertising (only founders' logos), are politically and religiously neutral, written in easy language, and well illustrated. They are intended as informational “inhibition” of students, awakening cognitive activity and aspirations to read. Authors and publishers, without claiming to be academically complete in presenting the material, publish Interesting Facts, illustrations, interviews with famous figures of science and culture and thereby hope to increase the interest of schoolchildren in the educational process. Please send your comments and suggestions to: pangea@mail..

We thank the Education Department of the Kirovsky District Administration of St. Petersburg and everyone who selflessly helps in distributing our wall newspapers. The material in this issue was prepared specifically for our project by the staff of the Kostenki Museum-Reserve (authors: chief researcher Irina Kotlyarova and senior researcher Marina Pushkareva-Lavrentieva). Our sincere gratitude goes to them.

Dear friends! Our newspaper has more than once accompanied its readers on a “journey to the Stone Age.” In this issue, we traced the path that our ancestors took before becoming like you and me. In the issue, we “disassembled” the misconceptions that have arisen around most interesting topic origin of man. In the issue, we discussed the “real estate” of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. In the episode we studied mammoths and got acquainted with the unique exhibits of the Zoological Museum. This issue of our wall newspaper was prepared by a team of authors from the Kostenki Museum-Reserve - “the pearl of the Paleolithic,” as archaeologists call it. Thanks to the finds made here, in the Don Valley south of Voronezh, our modern idea of ​​the “Stone Age” was largely created.

What is "Paleolithic"?

"Bones in the past and present." Drawing by Inna Elnikova.

Panorama of the Don Valley in Kostenki.

Map of Stone Age sites in Kostenki.

Excavations at the Kostenki 11 site in 1960.

Excavations at the Kostenki 11 site in 2015.

Portrait reconstruction of a person from the Kostenki 2 site. Author M.M. Gerasimov. (donsmaps.com).

A dwelling made from mammoth bones on display at the museum.

Currently, many monuments of that era have been discovered all over the world, but one of the most striking and significant is Kostenki, located in Voronezh region. Archaeologists have long called this monument the “pearl of the Paleolithic.” Now the Kostenki Museum-Reserve has been created here, which is located on the right bank of the Don River and occupies an area of ​​about 9 hectares. Scientists have been conducting research on this monument since 1879. Since that time, about 60 ancient sites have been discovered here, dating back to a huge chronological period - from 45 to 18 thousand years ago.

The people who lived in Kostenki at that time belonged to the same biological species as modern ones - Homo sapiens sapiens. During this time, humanity has managed to go a long way from small groups the first Europeans, who had just begun to explore the new continent, to highly developed societies of “mammoth hunters”.

The discoveries of that era showed that people not only managed to survive in the extreme conditions of the periglacial zone, but also created an expressive culture: they knew how to build quite complex residential structures, make a variety of stone tools and create amazing artistic images. Thanks to the finds in Kostenki, our modern understanding of the Stone Age was largely created.

A real fragment of that era - the remains of a dwelling made from mammoth bones, inside which stone and bone tools were found - is preserved under the roof of the museum in Kostenki. This preserved through the efforts of archaeologists and museum workers A piece of ancient life will help us uncover some of the secrets of the Stone Age.

Nature of the Ice Age

Map of the location of sites from the period of maximum Valdai glaciation.

Low sedge – “mammoth grass”.

"Landscape of the Ice Age in Kostenki." Drawing by N.V. Garoutte.

"Mammoths in the Don Valley." Drawing by I.A. Nakonechny.

Adams mammoth skeleton drawing ( Zoo museum). Found in 1799 in the Lena River delta. The age of the find is 36 thousand years.

Taxidermy sculpture of a mammoth on display at the museum.

"Mammoth Kostik" Drawing by Anya Pevgova.

"Baby Mammoth Styopa." Drawing by Veronica Terekhova.

"Mammoth Hunting" Drawing by Polina Zemtsova.

"Mammoth John" Drawing by Kirill Blagodir.

The time to which the main exhibit of the museum, a dwelling made from mammoth bones, dates back can be called the harshest in the last 50 thousand years. Almost the entire north of Europe was covered by a powerful ice sheet, due to which geographic map the continent looked somewhat different than it does now. The total length of the glacier was about 12 thousand kilometers, with 9.5 thousand kilometers falling on the territory of the northern part of the modern Russian Federation. The southern border of the glacier passed along the Valdai Hills, because of which this glaciation got its name - Valdai.

The conditions of the periglacial steppes were very different from the modern conditions of the same latitudes. If now the climate of our Earth is characterized by a change of seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter, each of which is characterized by special weather conditions, then 20 thousand years ago, most likely, there were two seasons. The warm season was quite short and cool, and the winter was long and very cold - the temperature could drop to 40-45º below zero. In winter, anticyclones lingered over the Don Valley for a long time, providing clear, cloudless weather. Even in summer, the soil did not thaw much at all, and the soil remained frozen throughout the year. There was little snow, so the animals could get food for themselves without much difficulty.

At that time, on the territory of Kostenki there was a completely different zone of vegetation distribution than now. Then these were meadow steppes, combined with rare birch, pine forests. In the river valleys, well protected from the wind and moistened, currants, cornflower, and impatiens grew. It was in the river valleys that small forests were hidden, protected by the slopes of the riverine hills.

One of the Ice Age plants survived safely until today- This is a low sedge, which is colloquially called “mammoth grass”, since it was a contemporary of this animal. Currently, this unpretentious plant can also be found on the slopes of the Kostenki hills.

The fauna of that time was also very different from the modern one. On the Kostenki hills and in the river valley one could see herds of primitive bison, reindeer, musk oxen, and Pleistocene horses. Wolves, hares, arctic foxes, polar owls and partridges were also permanent inhabitants of these places. One of the notable differences between Ice Age animals and modern ones was their large size. Harsh natural conditions forced animals to acquire thick fur, fat and large skeletons to survive.

The “king” of the animal world of that time was the majestic giant - the mammoth, the largest land mammal of the Ice Age. It was in his honor that the entire fauna of that time began to be called “mammoth.”

Mammoths were well adapted to dry, cold climates. These animals were dressed in warm skin, even the trunk was overgrown with hair, and its ears were ten times smaller in area than those of the African elephant. Mammoths grew up to 3.5-4.5 meters in height, and their weight could be 5-7 tons.

The dental apparatus consisted of six teeth: two tusks and four molars. Tusks were the most characteristic external feature of these animals, especially males. The weight of the tusk of a large seasoned male averaged 100-150 kilograms and had a length of 3.5-4 meters. The tusks were used by animals to strip twigs and tree bark, and to crack ice to get to water. The molars, located two at a time on the upper and lower jaws, had a grooved surface that helped grind coarse plant food.

Mammoths could eat from 100 to 200 kilograms of plant food per day. In summer, the animals fed mainly on grass (meadow grasses, sedges), and the terminal shoots of shrubs (willow, birch, alder). From constant chewing, the surface of the mammoth's teeth was very worn down, which is why they changed throughout his life. In total, he had six changes of teeth during his life. After the last four teeth fell out, the animal died of old age. Mammoths lived for about 80 years.

These giants disappeared from the face of the Earth forever due to climate change that occurred following the melting of the glacier. The animals began to get bogged down in numerous swamps and overheat under their thick shaggy fur. However, most of the species of mammoth fauna did not die, but gradually adapted to the changing natural conditions, and some of the animals of that time have safely survived to this day.

Life and occupations of Stone Age people

Diagram of a dwelling with five storage pits. Parking lot Kostenki 11.

Ancient hunters. Reconstruction of I.A. Nakonechny.

Flint spear or javelin tip. Age - about 28 thousand years.

"The warmth of the hearth." Reconstruction of the dwelling in the Kostenki 11 parking lot of Nikita Smorodinov.

Working with wood carving. Reconstruction.

Scraping a fox skin with a scraper. Reconstruction.

Decorating leather clothes with bone beads. Reconstruction.

Making clothes. Reconstruction of I.A. Nakonechny.

Animal figures made of marl. Age – 22 thousand years.

Women's figurine with jewelry.

Schematic representation of a mammoth. Age – 22 thousand years.

Panorama of the museum in Anosov Log in the village of Kostenki.

Some archaeologists believe that mammoths could have disappeared due to constant hunting by primitive people. In fact, at the Kostenki sites of that time, a huge number of mammoth bones are found: only to create one ancient house, people used about 600 bones of this animal! Therefore, the people who lived in Kostenki at that time are called “mammoth hunters.” And, indeed, the mammoth was a very attractive prey for the people of that time. After all, a successful hunt for him provided almost everything necessary for life: a mountain of meat, which allowed him to forget about hunting for a long time; bones that were used to build houses; skins for insulating homes; grease for interior lighting; tusks, which were used to make various crafts.

Paleolithic man was tied to herds of mammoths: people followed the animals and were always in close proximity to them. They also learned to defeat this gigantic beast using a round-up hunt. It is believed that mammoths were very timid animals and, hearing the sudden cries of hunters who were deliberately driving them to the edge of a cliff, they took flight and fell into a natural trap. A mammoth that rolled down a steep hillside broke its limbs and sometimes even its backbone, so it was not difficult for hunters to finish off the animal. To hunt mammoths, Stone Age people used spears and darts, the tips of which were made of flint - a stone with sharp cutting edges.

Thanks to the successful hunting of mammoths, people were able to stay in one place for a long time and live relatively sedentary lives. In harsh weather conditions, it was difficult for a person to survive without a warm, comfortable home, so they had to learn how to build them from available materials - mammoth bones, earth, wooden sticks and poles, animal skins.

In Kostenki, archaeologists distinguish five types of residential structures, which differ from each other in shape and size. One of them is preserved in the museum building. It is a round house with a diameter of 9 meters with a foundation-base 60 centimeters high, made of mammoth bones and soil holding them together. At an equal distance from each other along the entire perimeter of the wall-base, 16 mammoth skulls were dug in, in order to then secure poles in them, forming both the wall of the house and at the same time its roof. Mammoth skin was not suitable for covering a home, as it was too heavy, so our ancestors chose lighter skins - for example, reindeer.

Inside the house there was a fireplace, around which once in the Stone Age the whole family gathered for meals and ordinary family conversations. They slept right there, not far from the fireplace, on warm animal skins spread on the floor. Apparently, the house also housed a workshop for making stone tools - on one square meter Over 900 fragments of small flakes and flakes of flint were discovered in the dwelling. The list of tools of that time is very small: these are incisors, scrapers, points, piercings, knives, tips, needles. But with their help, people performed all the necessary operations: sewed clothes, cut meat, cut bone and tusk, and hunted animals.

Around the ancient house, archaeologists discovered 5 storage pits that were filled with mammoth bones. Considering the harsh climate and annual frozen ground, scientists concluded that these pits were used as refrigerators for storing food supplies. Currently, some peoples of the Far North are constructing exactly the same storage pits.

During the Ice Age, people worked tirelessly. Men hunted, brought prey home, and defended their clan. Women in the Stone Age played an important role - they were in charge of the household: they guarded the hearth in the house, prepared food, and sewed clothes from animal skins. In order to simply survive in the extreme conditions of the periglacial zone, people had to constantly work.

However, the finds of that era showed that people not only knew how to build quite complex dwellings and make a variety of stone tools, but also create amazing artistic images. A real work of art and one of the most striking finds are animal figurines made by an ancient master from dense limestone - marl. They all depict a herd of mammoths. Moreover, in this herd one can distinguish large and medium-sized individuals, as well as a small mammoth calf. What were these figurines used for? There are several answers to this question. One possibility suggests that it could be some kind of forgotten game like modern checkers. Another is that these were primitive abacus for counting the number of mammoths. And finally, these could just be children's toys.

The so-called “Upper Paleolithic Venus” was a symbol of female beauty, motherhood and continuation of life. In Kostenki, archaeologists found a whole series of small female figurines. All these figures are very similar: a head bowed down, a huge belly and breasts filled with milk, instead of a face, as a rule, a smooth surface. These are ancient symbols of procreation. One of them was wearing a lot of jewelry: a necklace on her chest and a necklace belt above her chest, and small bracelets on her elbows and wrists. All these are ancient amulets that are designed to “protect” their owner from many problems.

Another mysterious piece of Ice Age art is a drawing done by an ancient artist on slate. This image was also found by archaeologists in Kostenki. Having carefully examined the drawing, you can easily guess the characteristic silhouette of a mammoth: high withers, strongly drooping butt, small ears... But the ladder standing next to the animal makes you wonder: were mammoths really domesticated? Or does this drawing reproduce the moment of cutting up the carcass of a defeated animal?

Despite the many years of painstaking work of archaeological scientists trying to open the veil over the secrets of the Ice Age, much remains unclear. Maybe you, dear friend, will be the one who can make an incredible discovery, take part in archaeological excavations and make a unique find. In the meantime, we invite you to the Kostenki Museum-Reserve so that you can see with your own eyes an ancient house made of mammoth bones and learn in more detail about the Stone Age era.

Kostenki is one of the oldest known settlements modern man in Europe.

Chief researcher Irina Kotlyarova and senior researcher Marina Pushkareva-Lavrentieva. Museum-reserve "Kostenki".

We are waiting for your feedback, our dear readers! And thank you for being with us.