In the Voronezh region, on the right bank of the Don, there is the village of Kostenki, the surroundings of which scientists consider the ancestral home of Europeans. The name of the village is due to the fact that a large number of mammoth bones were found in its area.
Even Peter I gave the order to investigate these remains, at that time protruding directly from the ground. The first excavations in Kostenki began in 1920, and they continue to this day. More than 60 sites of primitive people who lived from 45 to 15 thousand years ago have been discovered on an area of 30 km². At the same time, 10 sites have several cultural layers, i.e. they have been inhabited continuously for hundreds of years.
What is the uniqueness of the sites in the village of Kostenki
Over the years of work, the remains of the bodies of primitive people, mammoths, horses and other animals were removed from the earth layers. Scientists learned how our ancestors lived and what they ate, and ten female figurines called "Paleolithic Venuses" became real sensations. They were made of stone or bone and covered with paint based on charcoal, marly rock, or ferrous nodules processed in a fire, giving a red color.
Primitive people built houses from mammoth bones, animal skins, earth and wood. Their dwellings had a primitive stove or hearth and a pit for storing supplies. The ancient people also did not forget to adorn themselves: they wore head hoops, bracelets, curly pendants. Archaeologists have found miniature stripes and seashells from the shores of the Black Sea, which were attached to hats and clothing.
Anthropologist Gerasimov noted that the ancient inhabitants of Kostenok had a narrow face, a wide nose and a protruding jaw, their average height was 160 cm. The "Kostenkovites" acquired an appearance similar to modern Europeans in a later period.
Surprisingly, the finds were made in layers that date back to the times when, according to the official Western chronology, the territory of the Russian Plain was lifeless and covered with glaciers. However, the findings and their dating suggest otherwise.
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Homeland of all Europeans
Archeology professor at the University of Colorado John Hoffecker also visited the sites of primitive people in the Kostenok area. After reviewing the material collected by his Soviet and Russian colleagues, the American scientist made a sensational statement in the Science magazine. Homo sapiens first appeared in the middle reaches of the Don, and only then moved to Europe.
In accordance with the earlier adopted version, Central and Western Europe was inhabited by people who came from the Balkans and the territory of modern Turkey. At the same time, a person appeared on the lands of modern Russia 10 thousand years later.
John Hoffecker called on the scientific world to reconsider this point of view. In Europe, no finds older than Kostenkov's have been found, which casts doubt on the traditional concept and admits that modern man appeared much earlier than previously thought, and in the wrong place.
The scientist does not know which route the first people left Africa and Asia, but he is sure that the rudiments of the future human civilization were formed in Kostenki. On the banks of the Don, people were engaged not only in hunting, fishing and gathering. They created tools, mastered the techniques of sawing, drilling and grinding, developed crafts and primitive art.
Evidence of the theory that Kostenki is the "cradle" of Europeans was the paleomagnetic and radiocarbon analyzes of ash, spores and pollen of plants found at the sites. Russian researchers have found that the most ancient materials are 40-42 thousand years old. And their colleagues from the USA, using thermoluminescent methods, came to the conclusion that their age is even more - 50 thousand years.
Thanks to the efforts of Russian researchers, there is now every reason to believe that the oldest proto-city on the planet with a population of 200-300 people was located on the territory of Kostenok.
Alexander Brazhnik