Paleolithic Period

Paleolithic Period [Палеоліт; Paleolit]. 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 approximately 300,000 BC), the Middle Paleolithic (approximately 300,000–50,000 BC), and the Upper Paleolithic (approximately 50,000–10,000 BC). These, in turn, consist of several eras or cultures; for example, the Upper Paleolithic period 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 three successive waves of glaciations (known as the Mindel, Riss, and Würm glaciations in Western European nomenclature and by other names in Central and Northern European and Soviet classification schemata) that occurred in Europe from approximately 600,000 BC are of particular interest to the study of human development. 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.

The oldest evidence of human presence in Ukraine has been found at the Korolevo archeological site in Transcarpathia and has been dated to ca 1.42 million BC. Archeological finds suggest that these ancient humans (most likely of the species Homo erectus) migrated into the Ukrainian territories from the Caucasus Mountains in the east. The second oldest site of ancient human activity is the Medzhybizh archeological site in Podilia dated to ca 950,000 BC. A small number of other Acheulean culture (ca 950,000–100,000 BC) sites have been excavated in Ukraine, providing evidence that early humans lived there in hunter-gatherer bands. However, evidence of substantial settlement in Ukraine begins only with the onset of the Mousterian culture (160,000–50,000 BC). This period began with the mild temperatures of the Riss-Würm interglacial and then continued with the Würm glaciation, which caused temperatures to fluctuate as it moved back and forth in three phases lasting to 10,000–8000 BC. The population growth experienced in such a glacial period resulted partly from the early humans’ increasing ability to adapt to cold conditions. More important was the large number of game animals that could be hunted and the abundant vegetation cover which could be gathered in spite of the colder climate.

Mousterian culture sites have been discovered in Ukraine mainly in the middle-Dnister River (the Molodove archeological site) and Dnipro Rapids regions and in the hills of southern Crimea and in the Crimean Mountains (Kiik-Koba, Shaitan-Koba, the Starosilia archeological site). Such locations offered the shelter of river terraces or caves. Evidence indicates that surface dwellings were constructed somewhat similar in appearance to igloos, using animal skins and some form of posts on a foundation of animal bones (particularly mammoths). Remains of cave dwellings, temporary camping grounds, flint extraction locations, and flint workshops have also been found. The ubiquity of hearths in all forms of Mousterian shelters indicates that the ability to make fire had become widespread. A variety of locally made flint tools (particularly side-scrapers and points) have been unearthed at Mousterian sites, indicating a varied usage. Nevertheless, flint technology was not particularly well-developed in this period.

Mousterian culture humans lived by hunting and gathering. The game during this period included mammoths, woolly rhinoceros, bisons, deer, wolves, and bears. Foods gathered included fruits, leaves, roots, bird eggs, and mollusks. The Mousterian culture inhabitants of Ukraine were Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) who lived in small groups that some scholars believe may have been matrilineal. The fact that they seemed to have buried their dead in a ritualized manner on their sides in a flexed position suggests that these ancient people may have developed some rudimentary religious consciousness.

A major change took place ca 50,000 BC when the Mousterian culture was supplanted by a series of Upper Paleolithic cultures. This was owing to the appearance of the (modern) Cro-Magnons (Homo sapiens) and the eventual demise of the Neanderthals. The exact time of the first appearance of modern humans on the territory of today’s Ukraine is a subject of debate, but some of the oldest traces of Cro-Magnons were found in the cave site of Buran-Kaya III in the Crimea, dated ca 35,000 BC. Comparative archaeogenetic studies indicate that these Cro-Magnons, who constituted part of the third wave of migrations of modern humans into Europe, arrived from the Caucasus Mountains in the east, and later migrated west into central and western European territories. It is also clear that for a transition period of some ten thousand years Cro-Magnons lived in various areas of Ukraine in close proximity with Neanderthals and even occasionally interbred.

The appearance of modern humans at the end of the Mousterian period was followed by a remarkable increase in the variety of implements used and the quality of their manufacture. End-scrapers and burins became particularly widespread at this time. The manner in which flint was worked from cores was improved. Different types of raw materials, including bone, antler, and ivory, were commonly used. High-quality flint was actively sought and transported over long distances (possibly as a barter item).

Upper Paleolithic settlements tended to be more permanent than their Mousterian counterparts. They became also more widespread throughout Ukraine (with a concentration in the previously settled areas along the Dnister River and Dnipro River) as the population increased during this period. The oldest identifiable traces of a dwelling construction built by modern humans in Ukraine have been discovered at the Mira archeological site on the Dnipro near today’s city of Zaporizhia; this structure, originally constructed out of tree trunks and branches, existed ca 30,000 years ago. Remnants of primitive wooden dwellings from later times were also identified at the Kyrylivska archeological site in Kyiv and other locations. During the final stage of the Epigravettian culture, ca 17,000–13,000 BC, several large settlements, covering up to 10,000 sq m and featuring elaborate mammoth-bone dwellings, were excavated in the Mizyn archeological site, the Hintsi archeological site, the Mezhyrich archeological site, the Dobranichivka archeological site, and other sites in the Kyiv region, Chernihiv region, and Poltava region. The remarkable dwelling shelters on these sites, built out of large amounts (at times over 20 tonnes in weight) of mammoth bones, represent today the oldest reconstructible architectural structures in the world. Throughout the Upper Paleolithic, hunting and gathering remained primary occupations, with evidence indicating considerable improvements in hunting technology and organization. Fishing became common during the latest stages of the Paleolithic.

A fundamental cultural change occurred in the Upper Paleolithic with the emergence of an esthetic consciousness. Whereas the remains of art objects are unknown at Mousterian culture sites, Upper Paleolithic discoveries include decorated bone, ivory, and antler objects, shell pendants, ivory bracelets, and ivory figurines of women, mammoths, and birds. Particularly important within the global cultural context are the discoveries of masterfully crafted artifacts at the Mizyn archeological site, which include figurine scultpures, a bracelet with the oldest known precisely engraved meander design, and painted mammoth bones that were used as percussion musical instruments. A carved mammoth-tusk with a schematic depiction of a local landscape, found at the Mezhyrich archeological site, is considered the oldest map made on the territory of Ukraine. Remains of flutes at the Molodove archeological site confirm that Upper Paleolithic humans created music, most likely, as a component of ritual ceremonies.

The end of the Ice Age and the general warming of the climaty during 10,000–8000 BC marked the end of the Paleolithic Period and the beginning of the Mesolithic Period.

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Andrij Makuch, Marko Robert Stech

[This article was updated in 2026.]