Vadim Stepanchuk

the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

The Ukrainian section of the Carpathian Mountains provides evidence for a stable, though not continuous, hominin presence in its Central European part (e.g., Korolevo, Velykyi Sholes). There are also reports of ancient sites in the eastern European part of the range (e.g., Skhidnytsya). We conducted a short-term pilot geoarchaeological survey of a...

The chapter consists of several thematic sub-sections focusing on the historiography, periodisation and geochronological framework of the early Stone Age period, the availability of key resources, settlement issues, general characteristics of the available Lower and Middle Palaeolithic records, reconstructions of the probable economy and social o...

The experiment is one of the promising methods of studying the behaviour of Pleistocene hominins. The basis of the experiments is the modelling of the specific conditions of the sites being studied. During 2018–2022, the authors conducted several experimental programs to research various aspects of the technological strategy and behaviour of the ho...

The article is devoted to solving the question of the origin of the raw materials of stone artifacts discovered during the study of the surface of the Lower Paleolithic localities near the settlement of Andriivka in the Kharkiv Region (Ukraine). The material of a significant part of artifacts was represented not by flint but by other rocks that are...

The article is devoted to solving the question of the origin of the raw materials of stone artifacts discovered during the study of the surface of the Lower Paleolithic localities near the settlement of Andriivka in the Kharkiv Region (Ukraine). The material of a significant part of artifacts was represented not by flint but by other rocks that are...

The analysis of two lithic assemblages at Medzhibozh 1, dated to MIS 15-13 and MIS 11, reveals significant variability in the post-depositional modification of artefacts. We conclude that the differential weathering of flake scars on the surfaces of artefacts are the product of an unusual combination of anthropogenic effects and natural processes....

The paper presents the first results of experimental modelling of a series of cut marks on bones in different states of preservation. We used experimental (quartz, flint) and technogenic (granite) flakes with sharp and blunt unretouched working edges and trimmed edges produced by the bipolar on-anvil technique. V-, П-, and U-shaped cut marks and su...

The significance of Mammuthus trogontherii tusk artifacts discovered in the MIS 11 layers of Medzhybizh A are discussed. The items are unique examples of deliberate modification of tusk material using the bipolar-on-anvil knapping and trimming techniques.

Elephant tusks: early evidence for developing a new type of raw material in Palaeolithic the Medzhibozh A, Ukraine, MIS 11 case.

Studying two lithic assemblages of Medzhibozh 1, dated to MIS 15-13 and MIS 11, reveals instances of artefacts whose neighbouring areas are distinctly different by the state of preservation. Investigating the artefact and artefact-bearing layers' taphonomic features allows concluding that it results from a peculiar combination of anthropogenic and...

This paper presents materials from one of the Palaeolithic sites discovered by the author in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Crimea. The Hamak-Koba sediment pack was once tested, and some archaeological materials were recovered. These are few but rather informative and have been published for the first time now. Judging by the available data, Ham...

The material evidence of Paleolithic children’s activities may well be found amongst items that have been discarded or lost in their time and have managed to survive into the present day. But how can they be recognized amongst the thousands of artefacts and other associated objects? Some “unusual items” and “strange stone tools” from Middle Paleoli...

This article presents eight pebbles with ochre residues from the context of the Middle Palaeolithic sites of Eastern Crimea. The finds come from different layers of the Ak-Kaya type Micoquian multilayered sites Zaskalnaya V, Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosovskaya) and Prolom II. Neanderthal bone remains were recovered in some of these layers. The age of finds...

The paper presents the first publication of unique ivory micro-artefacts identified in materials of the multilayered Palaeolithic sites Medzhibozh A and Zaskalnaya V. The objects under discussion represent the oldest currently known instances of anthropogenic modification of tusk material using the bipolar-on-anvil knapping and trimming techniques...

The paper aims to develop an experimental comparative base to characterise the occurrence conditions of cutmarks on bones that are recovered in the culture-bearing layers of the Lower Paleolithic sites near Medzhibozh, in the upper flow of the Southern Bug. We modelled the operation of cutting bones in different states of preservation in our resear...

For the first time, we publish data on unique micro-artefacts from а tusk, identified in materials of multilayered Palaeolithic sites Medzhibozh A and Zaskalnaya V. The objects are the oldest currently known instances of anthropogenic modification of tusk material using the bipolar-on-anvil knapping and trimming techniques and retouching. Medzhiboz...

Flint artefacts have been identified in the materials of the Lower Palaeolithic sites of Medzhibozh, which have experienced the effects of post-depositional alterations (PDA). We suggest a particular combination of anthropogenic and natural effects on lithic artefacts. In the vicinity of Medzhibozh in the Khmelnytskyi region in the West of Ukraine...

Located in the Dnieper valley and dated to ca. 32,000–31,000 cal BP, the site of Mira is characterized by a well-preserved record of past human activities. Lithic artefacts in perfect condition, rich faunal remains, bone tools and bone art objects, and anthropological remains have been discovered here in a position close to as it was at the moment...

In 2018-2022, the authors conducted a series of experiments on knapping the local limestones from the upper reaches of the Southern Bug, where Medzhibozh 1, Medzhibozh A, Golovchintsy 1 and Golovchintsy 2 Lower Palaeolithic sites are localised. These experiments continued the experimental studies aimed at modelling the freehand (FH) and bipolar on...

This paper presents the lithic assemblage of the Lower Palaeolithic site of Creţeşti, located on the right bank of the river Dniester in the northern outskirts of Dubasari town. Lithic artefacts are associated with alluvial deposits in the channel facies of the seventh Dniester terrace above its floodplain. Paleomagnetic data refer to the geochrono...

Purpose. To determine the rock composition and origin of raw materials of non-flint stone products found during the study on the Mira Upper Palaeolithic archaeological site in the Middle Dnipro area. Methodology. The research on the artefacts was carried out using the mineralogical and petrographic methods. The rocks were studied in transparent thi...

The Middle Pleistocene was a period of dynamic changes in Europe. During MIS 11, a number of modern mammal taxa appeared and environmental conditions remained warm and favourable for a relatively long time. The Medzhybizh 1 locality of Ukraine dated to this very period comprises alluvial deposits with rich animal remains, which allow not only to re...

The article presents the results of micro-residues study on the surface of stone tools from the lower, Acheulean layer of the cave site Zaskelna IX in the Crimea. Seve- ral recognised varieties of detected micro-residues of organic and mineral origin are characterised. Likely traces of specific wear inherent on the soft handle are identified. Pigme...

The Mira site is a stratified Upper Palaeolithic site in the Dnieper valley. The stratigraphic sequence includes three layers with archaeological finds from the period between 31,000 and 28,000 cal BP. The upper layer (layer I) yielded the remains of a seasonal autumn-winter settlement of horse hunters. The composition of flake tools suggests analo...

The purpose of this article is to present data on the surface structure identified in the upper layer of the Mira site in the Dnieper valley. The occupation of layer I, based on a set of consistent data, constitutes the remains of a seasonal winter camp of Pleistocene horse hunters. Ten available radiocarbon dates place the calibrated age of layer...

The collection of scientific works is dedicated to the eightieth anniversary of Prof. Mykhailo I. Gladkikh, a well-known Ukrainian archaeologist, prehistorian, teacher and world-class scientist. The issue of the collection is related to the field of scientific research of the jubilee – the interaction of human and the environment in prehistory. The...

The current state of research on Lower Palaeolithic sites in Ukraine within its 1991 borders is the focus of this paper. Over the last 10–15 years, many new sites have been discovered in different parts of the eastern European area of the country, reassessed some old materials. In the central European region of the country, in the Ukrainian Transca...

The main focus of this paper is to present the stone assemblage of one of the Lower Palaeolithic layers of Medzhibozh 1. Detailed typological and technological characteristics of the stone industry of layer III of the locality Medzhibozh 1 are given against the background of geomorphological characteristics and features of the Quaternary structure...

Located in the Dnieper valley and dated to ca. 32,000–31,000 cal BP, the site of Mira is characterized by the high level of conservation of human activity evidence. An important specificity of the site is its position in area without lithic raw material outcrops. The lithic industry of Mira, Layer I with confidence can be regarded as homogenous and...

Situated in Dnieper valley, in the central part of continental Ukraine, the site of Mira yields two well-preserved Palaeolithic occupation levels, possessing features of true living floors. The uppermost layer I, presenting remains of autumn-winter seasonal occupation, is dated to between 32,000 and 31,000 cal BP. Layer I contains EUP assemblage co...

The article is devoted to the coverage of a little-known aspect of D.Ya. Telehin's scientific activity, namely his research related to Palaeolithic sites and Palaeolithic issues. Although this was clearly not the main area of the scientist's concern, his interest for Palaeolithic studies has accompanied him throughout his scientific life.

This chapter considers the history of research into the Palaeolithic period in Ukraine (within the borders as of 1991) and the associated cultural processes that are in evidence during this period. The focus of this chapter is the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic periods, where we move from occasional and temporary forays into the territory of Ukraine...

Complex rock magnetic and palaeomagnetic studies of loess-palaesol sections-Lower Paleolithic sites in the valley of the Southern Bug (Medzhybizh, Holovchintsi)-were performed for the first time in order to determine the suitability of these objects for palaeomagnetic study and the establishment of magnetostratigraphic markers. Investigated section...

Combined rock magnetic and palaeomagnetic studies of loess-palaesol sections — Lower Paleolithic sites in the valley of the Southern Bug (Medzhybizh, Holovchintsi) — were performed for the first time in order to determine the suitability of these objects for palaeomagnetic study and the establishment of magnetostratigraphic markers. Investigated se...

The open-air site of Kulychivka is located at Kremenets in western Ukraine, and represents the only widely recognized occurrence of the Bohunician or Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) on the East European Plain. The site contains four cultural horizons assigned to the Upper Paleolithic buried in late Pleistocene slope deposits that overlie a bedrock...

The aim of this paper is to present the evidence for, and to discuss the aspects of the striking similarities that have been identified between backed bladelets recovered in two geographically distant assemblages, one found in Southern Italy (Paglicci, layer 24 horizon A1) and the other in Eastern Europe (Mira, layer II horizon 2). Both assemblages...

The purpose of this article is to present data on the surface structure identified in the upper layer of the Mira site in the Dnieper valley. The occupation of layer I, based on a set of consistent data, constitutes the remains of a seasonal winter camp of Pleistocene horse hunters. Ten available radiocarbon dates place the calibrated age of layer...

The publication includes materials that cover current methodological issues of archaeological science, museum studies, the protection of cultural heritage and the functioning of these disciplines in the educational system. The proposed collection will be useful for anyone interested in the problems of research, teaching, preservation and populariza...

Статья посвящена изложению результатов рекогносцировочных работ на отрезке правобережья среднего течения Северского Донца. Для оценки местонахождений с выходами природных красителей, каменного сырья и обнажениями раннечетвертичного возраста был применен гео-археологический подход. Определен круг потенциальных источников природных красителей, уточне...

The task of identifying and analyzing the signs of intentional processing non-siliceous raw materials became relevant in European Palaeolithic studies only in recent years with the discovery of numerous sites, where such materials were widely used. This led to the need for experimental work focused on the study of the physical principles of knappin...

The open-air site of Kulychivka is located at Kremenets in western Ukraine, and represents the only widely recognized occurrence of the Bohunician or Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) on the East European Plain. The site contains four cultural horizons assigned to the Upper Paleolithic buried in late Pleistocene slope deposits that overlie a bedrock...

Summary of the report presenting the current state of Lower Palaeolithic studies in Ukraine

This paper is devoted to the analysis of limestone pebble refitting, fragments of which were fixed at the site Medzhibizh A in the 2nd horizon of the cultural layer V, which correlates with the Shyrokyne age. Artifacts were detected in 2017 during the geological probing on square 3D. 477 limestone artifacts were identified on a plot adjacent to the...

The article presents preliminary results of research carried out in 2018 near Skhidnytsya (Eastern Carpathians), where series of Paleolithic stone artifacts was found in slope Holocene deposits. According to technical and morphological indicators, these materials can be defined as belonging to Lower Paleolithic. Finding of new location of materials...

The archaeological record of the early Upper Paleolithic on the central plain of Eastern Europe yields evidence for the repeated hunting of horses in small herds. Several major sites contain large bone beds that represent the butchered remains of a mare band. The bone beds are consistently associated with expedient tools, often made on local raw ma...

The archaeological record of the early Upper Paleolithic on the central plain of Eastern Europe yields evidence for the repeated hunting of horses in small herds. Several major sites contain large bone beds that represent the butchered remains of a mare band. The bone beds are consistently associated with expedient tools, often made on local raw ma...

Twenty-Seven Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites from Europe and the Middle East are reported in the literature to have yielded incised stones. At eleven of these sites incisions are present on flint cortexes. Even when it is possible to demonstrate that the engravings are ancient and human made, it is often difficult to distinguish incisions result...

Systematization of the results of the engraved cortex from Quneitra. (DOCX)

Systematization of the results of the engraved cortex from Qafzeh. (DOCX)

Коллективная монография. Под редакцией В. Н. Степанчука и С. В. Васильева. Киев: ЧП "Издательство "Слово", 2018. – 228 с. Монография посвящена итогам изучения III и IIIa слоя многослойной стоянки Заскальная VI (Колосовская) в Крыму. Рассматриваются вопросы стратиграфии и планиграфии, характеризуются тафономические аспекты палеонтологических наход...

The article is devoted to the social structure of the Neanderthal society as reflected in the Middle Palaeolithic materi- als of the Crimea. A number of parameters related to the social and demographic structure of the Neanderthal society are discussed and assessed, including the probabale size of communities, the diversity of economic activities,...

The article is devoted to the social structure of the Neanderthal society as reflected in the Middle Palaeolithic materials of the Crimea. A number of parameters related to the social and demographic structure of the Neanderthal society are discussed and assessed, including the probabale size of communities, the diversity of economic activities, th...

We analyze a radius bone fragment of a raven (Corvus corax) from Zaskalnaya VI rock shelter, Crimea. The object bears seven notches and comes from an archaeological level attributed to a Micoquian industry dated to between 38 and 43 cal kyr BP. Our study aims to examine the degree of regularity and intentionality of this set of notches through thei...

A preliminary geochemical examination of materials from the archaeological sequence at Medzhibozh A reveals evidence of the use of fire. Irregular, dark ochre, ashy circles that look like the remains of hearths were unearthed in 2012 and 2013 in the uppermost artifact-bearing layer associated with episode zv-1 of the Zavadovka stratigraphic layer (...

During the Pleistocene, the saiga antelope, a nomadic, non-territorial, herding species, inhabited vast areas of Eurasia and North America; its distribution was at its maximum extent in the last glaciation. Now, it is restricted to a few isolated populations in Central Asia. Two main forms of saiga were recognised: Saiga borealis and S. tatarica. T...

The proposed brief review is mainly focused – from the standpoint of currently available geostratigraphical, chronological and strictly archaeological data – on the most important cultural and colonization shifts that took place on the territory of today’s Ukraine in course of the Middle and Upper Pleistocene. As a geochronological frame, the offic...

Located in Eastern Crimea, the multilayered site of Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosovskaya) represents an important key Middle Palaeolithic site of the Crimean peninsula. The uppermost unit of cultural layers of the site (layers IIIa, III, II, and I) pertains to the final stage of the Middle Paleolithic development. The richness and good preservation of vario...

The Lower Paleolithic localities near the town of Medzhibozh in the Khmelnitsky region of western Ukraine represent a group of multilayered sites near the Southern Bug River. Medzhibozh 1 locality is the focus of the presented report. The age of its main assemblage is defined at the beginning of the Zavadovka episode, MIS 11, while the underlying s...

This paper is dedicated to paleoclimatic analіsis and reconstruction of existence conditions of ancient man of Likhvin epoch and paleoecology of mammals as components of ancient biocenosis of Mindel-Riss time after data of Medzhybozh locality in Western Ukraine.

Modern soils and paleosols, loess and uncemented aeolian caves sediments are carriers of a paleoclimatic signal (Evans, Heller, 2003). The saturation degree of a layer with humus material, depending on the temperature, correlates well with magnetic susceptibility and different types of magnetization of deposits (Tang et al., 2003, Bosak&Pruner, 201...

New geoarchaeological and bioarcheological research was undertaken at the open-air site of Mira, which is buried in deposits of the Second Terrace of the Dnepr River, roughly 15 km downstream from the city of Zaporozhye in Ukraine. Previous excavation of the site revealed two occupation layers dating to ∼32,000 cal BP. The lower layer (II/2) yielde...

The cave site Prolom II situated in the eastern part of the Crimean peninsula has produced evidence of repeated inhabitation during the Middle Palaeolithic. The stone artefacts permit a sure cultural identification and comparison with analogous material belonging to the Ak-Kaya culture. In a broader sense the Ak-Kaya culture of the Crimea may be re...

Les matières premières lithic représente un de besoins essentiels pour la population préhistorique, c'est ainsi que le dynamique de l'exploitation de la matière première dans le Paléolithique en Ukraine doive être étudiée non seulement dans les contextes des spécialités du territoire, du paysage, du climat et d'autres particularités environnemental...

135 2.4. small oPPorTunITIes and bIg needs: mIra early uPPer PaleolIThIc case of raw maTerIals exPloITaTIon (dnIePer basIn, ukraIne) M. YaMada & a. OnO Lithic raw material exploitation and circulation in Préhistory. A comparative perspective in diverse palaeoenvironments liège, ERAUL 138, 2014, p. 135-158 Résumé La transition du Paléolithique moyen...

Mira: Early Upper Paleolithic Site in the Dnieper Valley The monograph is devoted to the materials of Mira, a highly informative multilayered Early Upper Paleolithic site in the Sub-Rapids area of the Dnieper river. The site is characterized by a good preservation of both stone and organic objects. Chapter І contains natural science data about the...

Early Upper Paleolithic Archaic industries of the Eastern Europe: Exploring the question of blade technology and «Aurignacoide» features Proposed paper is devoted to some important aspects of studies on East European Early Upper Paleolithic, namely, to the question of application of blade technology in the context of so-called Archaic (Symbiotic)...

For almost three decades, the only evidence of stratified and well-documented Lower Palaeolithic in Ukraine was reported for Korolevo, situated west of the Carpathian arch. This locality remains the most important in the country and provides four Lower Palaeolithic assemblages, of which two were recognised below the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary. Sever...

Paper deals with analysis of the most informative Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic sites of Balkan peninsula and Northern Black Sea Area for the finding-out the general regularities of cultural-historical dynamic and search for the facts testifying either interaction or independent parallel evolution of material culture of population of these l...

The paper is dedicated to the multilayered Upper Palaeolithic site of Mira in the Middle Dnieper basin. Particular attention is given to the fact that most of the raw materials used by the inhabitants of the site appear to be of East Carpathian origin. This allows supposing this case to be an example of a long distance migration of a small group of...

Abstract: Dynamics of cultural development and patterns of land colonisation are discussed in their relation on environmental change in course of second half of OIS 3 and OIS 2. Accordingly to Ukrainian scheme of stratigraphical subdivision, this period embraces Bug, Dofinovka, and Prichernomorie intervals. Seven chronological periods are analysed,...

The monograph is devoted to summarizing and rethinking of materials on Lower and Middle Palaeolithic of Ukraine (~1 ma - ~30 ka BP). The volume includes determination of geochronological frames of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic of the country, considers the questions of archaeological periodization, absolute chronology, dynamics of natural environme...

This paper presents the first results of the investigation of the new Early Upper Paleolithic open-air site of Mira in the Middle Dnieper area, eastern Europe, Ukraine. Mira yields two distinct Paleolithic occupations (II/2 and I) separated by the remains of a natural burning event (II/1). The Mira I assemblage exhibits a proliferation of Middle an...

The territory of Ukraine is fairly rich in siliceous raw materials though their spatial distribution is uneven. Accordingly to geological data, good quality isotropic rocks suitable for knapping are especially abundant in Transcarpathia, the Dniester valley, North and NorthEastern Ukraine, and Crimea. Though areas of the main concentrations of pote...

This paper presents analyses of Late Middle Paleolithic (LMP) and Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) material from the East European Plain and Caucasus. Late Middle Paleolithic industries show a highly variable pattern, although they are formally ascribed to a limited number of technocomplexes. Many of the LMP industries, especially in the Crimea, survi...