It’s one of the oldest, and largest structures ever discovered of its kind. Although it resembles a hut, its exact purpose remains a mystery, researchers have explained.
Some 25,000 years ago, an ancient group of people hunted Mammoths. They fed off them and used their skin to create clothes. The bones that were left were not thrown away. A study published by Dr. Alexander J.E. Pryor, a post-doctoral researcher in archaeology at the University of Southampton, explains how ancient people used Mammoth bones to create structures that were used for different purposes.
Check Out This 25,000-Year-Old Structure Made Out of
It’s one of the oldest, and largest structures ever discovered of its kind. Although it resembles a hut, its exact purpose remains a mystery, researchers have explained.
Some 25,000 years ago, an ancient group of people hunted Mammoths. They fed off them and used their skin to create clothes. The bones that were left were not thrown away. A study published by Dr. Alexander J.E. Pryor, a post-doctoral researcher in archaeology at the University of Southampton, explains how ancient people used Mammoth bones to create structures that were used for different purposes.
25,000-Year-Old Structure
According to a statement, the ancient structure dates back some 25,000 years ago and is one of the oldest human-made structures ever found in present-day Russia. The mammoth-bone building’s exact purpose remains an enigma, and it is unlikely it was used as a hut. The archaeological site where the structure was found is known as Kostenki 11, and its primary part is a large circular structure made most out of Mammoth Bones. Archaeological excavations of the site suggest the structure was built of more than 60 mammoth bones.
Although the structure’s exact purpose remains mysterious, archaeologists theorize it may have been used either for shelter or religious or ceremonial purposes.
More than 300 years ago, in 1703, mammoth teeth were found at the site. A Dutch traveler and artist called Cornelis de Bruijn wrote after visiting the site:
In the locality in which we were, to our great surprise, we found many elephant teeth, of which I kept one myself, for the sake of curiosity, but I can not understand how these teeth could get here. True, the Emperor [Peter I] told us that Alexander the Great, passing this river, as some historians assure, reached the small town of Kostenka, about eight versts from here, and that it could very well be that at that time several elephants had fallen, the remains of which are still here today.”
After a series of excavations at the Kostenki 11 archaeological site, the odd structure was revealed by archaeologists, located some 50 kilometers from present-day Moscow. The structure, which remained buried since time immemorial, is now considered one of the largest of its kind and proves that more than 25,000 years ago, ancient people took great care in constructing large buildings.
Although we can’t know who exactly designed and built the structure, archaeologists estimate it was erected by a group of hunter-gatherers who saw a need to settle—for at least a short period—at the site.
The structure is large, measuring 11 meters across, and archaeologists say it must have required great building effort. The bones used in the construction were obtained from mammoths that were hunted in the region and other animals like wolves, horses, bears, reindeer, and arctic foxes.
Archaeologists have excavated 51 lower jaws and more than 60 individual mammoths’ skulls. While experts still don’t know the exact purpose of the restructuring, evidence of human occupation within it has been found. Researchers have discovered that the ancient people who built it burned wood inside it. Archeologists found charred wood in the soil samples within. One possibility is that the structure was used as a shelter that helped protect a larger group of people from extreme weather.