Gontsy is a mammoth bone settlement located on a promontory terrace within the Udai valley near Lubny, in the Poltava district of Ukraine. It includes at least six separate mammoth bone dwellings, associated with a massive bone bed. The site was occupied at least twice during the Late Upper Paleolithic period, between 14,110-14,620 RCYBP (~ca 16,800 and 17,700 calendar years ago).
Details of Mammoth Bone Dwellings
Six mammoth bone dwellings have been identified at Gontsy, within an area of some 40x80 meters (130-260 feet). Little is known about one designated #0 by modern researchers, as it was excavated by an amateur archaeologist in 1905; a second one (#4) awaits complete excavation.
The largest of the huts is more than 6 m (20 ft) in diameter, with a surface area of some 40 square meters (430 square feet). About 2/3 of the structure has been excavated to date, and so far 125 mammoth tusks, 60 scapulae, 20 skulls, 10 pelves, 12 long bones and five mandibles have been recovered from the area.
The most completely excavated of the dwellings includes a circular foundation of 28 mammoth skulls, in a diameter of just under 6 m (20 ft). The walls were constructed of stacked long bones, pelvises, scapula and tusks. Several refuse pits surround the hut, filled with bones and other artifacts. Animals represented in the pits include reindeer bones mainly feet), mammoth teeth and burned bone fragments, which suggest these represent the final processing of the animal for consumption. Further away from the hut is a series of ash accumulations, all with burnt bones and flint artifacts. A wide scatter of reindeer bone and antler, some partially articulated rabbit bones and larger mammoth fragments appear to have resulted from butchering.
A third dwelling is at Gontsy is a smaller structure, 2.7x1.7 m (8.8x5.6 ft). It was constructed of several mammoth bones, two tusks, a femur and a skull fragment. Features recovered from this location at Gontsy include a hearth apparently used for processing red ochre pigment, an engraved pick made from a mammoth tusk, a reindeer antler hammer, and several ochre concentrations.
Other Features
Working areas between the huts included refuse pits, hearths, dumping areas, flint knapping workshops, and butchering areas. The working areas include stone tools and cores, bone and ivory tools, ivory fragments, red ochre, and bone and ivory ornaments. Large hearths are present: a smaller hearth is interpreted as a ochre working feature.
In addition to hut construction and food, mammoth bone was used as fuel for fires. The remains of over 70 individual mammoths are represented at the entire site, including adults and juveniles of both sexes. Other animal bones are less common, but include reindeer, bison, fox, horse, and marmot.
Excavations at Gontsy
Gontsy has a long and complicated excavation history. It was discovered by G.S. Kyriakov in 1871, and excavated by F.I. Kaminski beginning in 1873. The earliest professional excavations were that of the Poltava museum under the direction of V.M. Scherbakivski in 1914-1915. Other excavations were held in 1935 directed by I.F. Levitski and A.I. Brusov, and between 1977-1981 by V.I. Sergin. Extensive ongoing excavations began in 1993 by a joint French-Ukrainian team led by L.A. Iakovleva of the NASU and F. Djindjian of the University of Paris.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Upper Paleolithic, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Iakovleva L, and Djindjian F. 2005. New data on Mammoth bone settlements of Eastern Europe in the light of the new excavations of the Gontsy site (Ukraine). Quaternary International 126–128:195-207.
Iakovleva L, Djindjian F, Maschenko EN, Konik S, and Moigne AM. in press. The late Upper Palaeolithic site of Gontsy (Ukraine): A reference for the reconstruction of the hunter–gatherer system based on a mammoth economy. Quaternary International(0).
Iakovleva LA, and Djindjian F. 2001. New data on mammoth bone dwellings of Eastern Europe in the light of the new excavations of the Ginsy site (Ukraine). Paper given at the World of Elephants - International Congress, Rome 2001
