Bone Artifacts from the Middle Palaeolithic Site of Rozhok I (Cultural Horizon VI) in the North-Eastern Azov Region

Abstract

The multilayer site of Rozhok I is a reference object for the study of the Middle Palaeolithic in the south of the Russian Plain. The well-preserved cultural remains lying in a thick bed of loess-soil sediments may shed light on a number of questions regarding the chronology and cultural affinities of the regional Middle Palaeolithic industries, as well as the economic activity of their makers and the character of manufacturing technologies used to produce stone and bone tools. Of special interest is a series of bone artifacts identified among faunal remains from cultural horizon VI. These include both lightly and heavily modified objects, some of which appear to have been associated with symbolic behavior. The paper presents the results of an in-depth technological analysis of these artifacts.