Ice age architecture: how mammoth bones reveal human ingenuity
What do you build with when trees are scarce and winters are brutal? For hunter-gatherers living in current-day Ukraine some 18,000 years ago, the answer was simple: mammoth bones.
Fresh insights
A recent research article, co-authored by Leiden archaeologist Wei Chu, in Open Research Europe revisits the famous Upper Palaeolithic site of Mezhyrich, where archaeologists uncovered structures made almost entirely of mammoth bones. These constructions have long sparked debate: were they homes, storage spaces, or ritual monuments? The new research offers fresh insights by applying advanced radiocarbon dating techniques to small mammal remains found in the same cultural layers.
The results are striking. The largest structure at Mezhyrich dates to 18,248–17,764 years ago, during the harshest phase of the last Ice Age. Even more intriguing, the occupation span was short; possibly a single or few visits over centuries. This suggests that these bone-built shelters were practical solutions for survival rather than permanent settlements.
Human resilience
Why does this matter? Beyond the sheer ingenuity of using mammoth bones as building material, these findings reshape our understanding of human resilience and adaptation. They show how communities thrived in extreme environments, turning the remnants of giant animals into protective architecture.
Challenging assumptions
As dating methods become more precise, sites like Mezhyrich continue to challenge our assumptions about prehistoric life. Far from being static, these societies were dynamic, resourceful, and deeply connected to their environment, a lesson that still resonates today.
Read the whole article on Open Research Europe.