Finger Rings from the Double Burial of Teenagers at the Sungir Upper Paleolithic Site

Abstract

The article presents the results of a technical and morphological study of a series of ivory finger rings discovered in 1969 by O. N. Bader during his excavations of a unique double burial of teenagers at the Sungir Upper Palaeolithic site (35—29 thousand years ago), situated at the eastern suburb of the city Vladimir in Vladimir province of Russia. The objects under study are nine artifacts in the shape of small rings made of mammoth ivory, including six intact finger rings found on the fingers of two buried teenager boys. The newly obtained technological and use-wear evidence makes it possible to better understand how the rings were produced and used. In particular, it suggests that both closed and disconnected rings were carved from short and massive ivory chips. Special attention was given not to the aesthetic of the outer surface but rather to the morphometric properties of the inner surface. The character of pitting on the ring surfaces, peculiarities of their position on the fingers, and the character of the archaeological context of these finds point to the possibility that they were probably not only personal ornaments of ancient hunters, but had also some strictly utilitarian function associated with the use (throwing) of projectiles.