Discover structures made from hundreds of mammoth bones

Archaeologists find one of the largest and oldest ice ages made from mammoth bones in the Kostenki region.

Hundreds of mammoth bones are assembled into giant circles in Russia.(Photo: Science Mag).

About 25,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers used hundreds of bones and tusks from at least 60 mammoths to create a circular structure measuring 12.5 meters in diameter. The skeletons, which originated from hunted mammoths or natural corpses, were found on an ancient snow field about 500 km south of today's capital Moscow, according to research. published this week in Antiquity magazine.

The excavation began in 2015. Experts, led by archaeologist Alexander Pryor of the University of Exeter in England, have spent years deciphering this mysterious building but still do not understand why it was built. erect.

"The mammoth bones are very heavy. The huge circular structures of hundreds of such fragments require a great deal of time and effort to create , " Pryor said. "This is very strange because hunter-gatherers never spend a lot of time in one location."

So far, researchers have identified 64 boxes and 51 mammoth skeletons. They are assembled into a continuous circle and have no entrance. Inside the circle, Pryor and his colleagues also found ashes from burnt pine. But overall, there is no sign of permanent human habitation.

The team believes that the structure does not function as a winter hideout as previously known as mammoth bone constructions . "It clearly means something to them, be it for ceremonial purposes, or practical purposes like food storage , " Pryor explained.

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