Gennady A. Khlopachev^1,*, Konstantin N. Gavrilov^2,**

¹Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia
²Institute of Archaeology RAS, Moscow, Russia
*E-mail: gak@kunstkamera.ru
**E-mail: k_gavrilov.68@mail.ru 

Keywords: the Upper Paleolithic, Russian Plain, bone-earthen structures, dwellings of Anosovka-Mezin type, comparative analysis.

The article is focused on analyzing structural features of regular clusters of mammoth and other animal bones within the complex of archaeological objects of Anosovka-Mezin type. The study discusses the problem of their interpretation as remains of dwellings. According to the authors, the taphonomic characteristics of the bone-earthen structures suggest that they were uncovered in a state close to in situ and are unlikely to have resulted from the collapse of the roof and walls. Based on the results of most recent excavations conducted on the site of Yudinovo 1, the authors conclude that the individual sections of the dwelling 5 bone cluster probably belong to different periods and that the bone clusters appeared at the final stages of the formation of the Anosovka-Mezin complex. Thus, it challenges the conventional interpretation of a number of bone clusters as remains of dwelling structures.

DOI: 10.31857/S086960630007212-2