Prehistoryc. 41,000 years ago · Kostenki 14 (Markina Gora), Voronezh Oblast, Russia
Black Sea shells found among 41,000-year-old jewellery at Russia's Kostenki
Two perforated marine shells, among about 50 ornaments from the oldest layer at Kostenki 14 near Voronezh, came from the Black Sea region, the excavators say.
In brief 3 key points
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- About 50 shell ornaments found in a 41,000-year-old layer in Russia.
- Two marine shells point to contacts with the Black Sea region.
- Whether people or trade brought them north is still unknown.
Archaeologists have found about 50 pieces of shell jewellery more than 41,000 years old at Kostenki 14, a Stone Age site on the Don River in western Russia. Two of the shells are marine and came from the Black Sea region, according to the excavators. The rest are freshwater shells that could have come from the nearby river.
The team found the ornaments during the 2026 excavation season at Kostenki 14, also known as Markina Gora. The site lies on the western bank of the Don near Voronezh. Andrei Sinitsyn, a senior researcher specialising in the Palaeolithic, heads the excavation.
All the ornaments came from the site's oldest archaeological layer, known as IVw. It has been dated to around 41,500–41,000 years ago. The people who left it were among the earliest known Homo sapiens to reach these northern latitudes, during the first spread of modern humans across Europe.
Two shells from the Black Sea
The two marine shells belong to a mollusc called Tritia reticulata. Both have holes, so they could be hung or attached to clothing. This species could not have lived anywhere near the settlement. The researchers trace the shells to the Black Sea coast.
“This season's finds include two Tritia reticulata shells with holes for hanging. Another 48 ornaments were made from the shells of Theodoxus fluviatilis and other species of river mollusc.”
Andrei Sinitsyn, head of the excavation and senior researcher specialising in the Palaeolithic
The river shells could have been gathered locally. The Don flowed only a few hundred metres from the prehistoric settlement. According to Sinitsyn, the finds show that the inhabitants used both materials from their immediate surroundings and objects brought from much farther away.
How the marine shells reached Markina Gora is unknown. People may have carried them north as they migrated. In that case the shells could preserve traces of the routes Homo sapiens followed across Eastern Europe.
Alternatively, the shells may have passed between communities through exchange networks. The people at Kostenki would then not necessarily have travelled to the Black Sea themselves. The researchers say telling the two apart will be difficult. They add that answering the question could help reconstruct how modern humans settled Eastern Europe.
Shell ornaments were found in this layer before
Earlier excavations found similar perforated shells in the same layer, though in smaller numbers. The researchers say the repeated finds suggest the ornaments were not isolated or accidental. Decorating the body or clothing with shells may have been a lasting tradition among the people at the site.
The team thinks the ornaments may have marked the group's cultural identity. On that reading, they could have set these people apart from other communities living in the Kostenki area at about the same time.
How the shells were worn is not yet known. They may have been sewn onto outer clothing, like the thousands of mammoth-ivory beads found on clothing in the Sungir burials in Russia. They may also have been worn singly as pendants, or in necklaces, bracelets or other ornaments.
Kostenki 14 is part of the Kostenki complex of sites along the Don. It has several archaeological layers from different periods of prehistoric settlement. The Kostenki expedition has worked there for around three decades.
Next, the researchers plan traceological analysis of the shells. This method examines microscopic marks left by making and using an object. Wear around the holes, for example, could show how the shells were hung or attached.
Sources (1)
News reportsfrom Russian Academy of Sciences
Edited by Guiseppe Weijermars
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