IEU'S FEATURED TOPIC IN UKRAINIAN HISTORY

PALEOLITHIC PERIOD. The earliest period of human development, lasting until approximately 8000 BC. In Western archeology the Paleolithic Period (or Old Stone Age) is divided into three epochs: the Lower Paleolithic (from roughly 3 million years ago to 300,000 BC), the Middle Paleolithic (ca 300,000 to 50,000 BC), and the Upper Paleolithic (approximately 50,000 to 10,000 BC). These, in turn, consist of several eras or cultures; for example, the Upper Paleolithic is subdivided into the Aurignacian, Gravettian, Perigoridian, Sultrean cultures, as well as (in its final stages) the Epigravettian culture (particularly relevant to Ukraine and southern and eastern Europe) and Magdalenian culture (most strongly developed in western Europe). Notwithstanding some significant differences between Ukrainian and Western European Paleolithic cultures, Ukrainian archeological studies follow this same basic scheme. The Paleolithic Period coincides with the geological age known as the Pleistocene, which is marked by a general cooling of the earth's temperature and the corresponding expansion and retreat of glaciers. The Pleistocene epoch ends at the same time as the historical Paleolithic Period (ca 10,000-8000 BC) with the final retreat of glaciation over most of Europe and the coming of a new, warmer geological age, the Holocene...

KOROLEVO ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE. A multi-occupational archeological site of the Paleolithic Period situated on the left bank of the Tysa River near the town of Korolevo in Transcarpathia oblast. Discovered in 1974 during an expedition headed by Vladyslav Hladylin, Korolevo is the site of the most ancient Paleolithic occupation not only in Ukraine, but in all of eastern Europe. The excavations (to the depth of 12 meters) of an area of 1,500 sq m on the high terrace above the Tysa revealed 14 cultural layers spanning the time periods from the Lower to the Upper Paleolithic. Over 100,000 artefacts have been found at the site. The oldest stone tools have been dated back to ca 1.42 million BC. Archeological evidence suggests that the ancient humans who made these tools (likely of the species Homo erectus) migrated into the Ukrainian territories from the Caucasus Mountains in the east. Other old artefacts have been dated to ca. 900,000 BC and 550,000 BC. Six more recent cultural layers excavated at this site produced numerous tools dating back to the Mousterian culture (150,000 to 35,000 BC), which had been probably fashioned by Neanderthals. There is also one cultural layer dating back to the Upper Paleolithic when the site was already occupied by modern humans (Homo sapiens)...

MOLODOVE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE. A multi-occupational Paleolithic site on the right bank of the Dnister River near Bratanivka, Chernivtsi oblast. Discovered in the 1920s, the site was excavated from 1951 to 1980 by Oleksander Chernysh and other archeologists. While numerous occupational periods have been discovered at Molodove, the most important are Molodove I and Molodove V. Molodove I consists of nine distinct settlements spanning the period from the Middle Paleolithic (the Mousterian culture) through the Upper Paleolithic (the Gravettian culture) to the Mesolithic Period. A sizable circular accumulation of mammoth bones found at Molodove I had originally been interpreted as the oldest mammoth-bone dwelling discovered in Ukraine. However, since the dating of this concentration of bones would make it over 30,000 years older than any other known mammoth-bone dwelling and might place it in the Mousterian period of the Neanderthals, many archeologists re-interpret this ring of bones as some primitive construction, such as a hunting blind. At Molodove V twenty settlements spanning the Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods were uncovered. Among the numerous artifacts excavated there are three primitive flutes made from reindeer antlers that are among the most ancient musical instruments found in eastern Europe...

EPIGRAVETTIAN CULTURE. The last of the cultures of the Paleolithic Period on Ukrainian territories. It lasted from approximately the 18th to the 10th millennium BC. In central and northern Ukraine the Epigravettian culture was associated with mammoth hunters. Between ca 16,000 BC and ca 13,000 BC hunting communities living along the Dnipro River and Desna River established more permanent and fairly large (with an area of up to 10,000 sq m) settlements that featured elaborate mammoth-bone dwellings. Such settlements have been excavated at archeological sites in Mizyn, Hintsi, Mezhyrich, Dobranichivka, and other locations. Notable artistic developments took place during that time, especially as seen in sculpture (particularly female figurines carved out of mammoth tusks from Mizyn or a schematic landscape depiction on a mammoth tusk from Mezhyrich) and adornments (such as a bracelet with an elaborate meander design and shell jewellery). Painted mammoth bones that were used as percussion instruments at Mizyn and flutes found at the Molodove V archeological site confirm that Upper Paleolithic humans created music, most likely, as a component of ritual ceremonies. In the steppe region of today’s eastern and southern Ukraine the Epigravettian culture was associated with the hunters who pursued bisons, reindeer, and wild horses...

MEZHYRICH ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE. An Upper Paleolithic site situated on the promontory between the Ros River and Rosava River near the village of Mezhyrich, Kaniv raion, Cherkasy oblast. The site dates back to the Epigravettian culture and is estimated to be between 18,200 and 17,400 years old. It was accidentally discovered in 1965 and was first excavated by Ivan Pidoplichko in 1966-74. Other excavations took place in 1976-83, 1989, 1989-98 (by a joint Ukrainian-American team), 2002-8 (by a joint Ukrainian-French team), and 2009- (under Pavlo Shydlovsky). The depth of the excavated strata is 2.5 to 4 m and the area of the excavations is approximately 2,500 sq m. The Mezhyrich site was a winter settlement of Paleolithic mammoth hunters. Remains of four large (the largest ca 7 m in diameter) mammoth-bone dwellings were uncovered at the site, one of them with a unique fence made of mammoth bones. Storage pits, fire pits, and flint and bone tools were also found. A unique artefact found at the Mezhyrich site is a schematic map of the area carved out on a fragment of a mammoth tusk. It is the oldest map ever to be found on the territory of Ukraine. Some of the dwellings found at the site are preserved in the National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and at the American Museum of Natural History in New York...

MIZYN ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE. An Upper Paleolithic site located on the right bank of the Desna River near the village of Mizyn in Chernihiv oblast. Discovered in 1908, the site is one of the most important and better known examples of Epigravettian culture in Ukraine. It is estimated to be ca 15,000 years old. The site was excavated in 1908-16 by Fedir Vovk, Petro Yefymenko, and Levko Chykalenko, but any serious study of it was made impossible by the First World War and later the Ukrainian-Soviet War, 1917–21. Excavations of the site resumed in 1930 under the leadership of Mykhailo Rudynsky. After the Second World War the site was studied by such archeologists as Ivan Shovkoplias and Serhii Bibikov. Five circular dwellings were discovered at the site, the largest being 6 m in diameter. The inhabitants hunted mammoths, deer, and other animals. Many artefacts were excavated at the site, including stylized sculptures of women and animals. Geometric decorative motifs were found on the female sculptures as well as on bone bracelets found at the site, including the earliest known depiction of a meandering ornament and of a swastika. Some examples of shell jewelry were also excavated. Some of the painted mammoth-bone artefacts were identified by archeologists as the oldest known percussion instruments in Ukraine...