Notes on the Unique Ocher Drawing Discovered at the Mezhyrich Paleolithic Site in Ukraine


Observations sur une peinture à locre découverte sur le site paléolithique de Mezhyrich en Ukraine
Baitenov E.M.
1 September 2021Elsevier Masson s.r.l.

Anthropologie (France)
2021#125Issue 4

The updated examination of the symbolic ocher drawing applied on a mammoths skull which has been discovered at the Mezhyrich Paleolithic site, has led us to suggest its new interpretation – the drawing reflects an utterly stylized reproduction of a mammoth. The style of the drawing (acute angles) as well as the specific Mezhyrich décor (chevrons, rhombus) are probably based on the V-shaped lower jaw of mammoths which might have been associated with the “females” triangle. The drawing of a mammoth has been implemented in the manner of “flattened untwisted reproduction” of its two profile projections – that is the method to create a 3-D image on a flat surface.

Axis of symmetry , Chevron , Lower jaw of the mammoth , Mammoth , Mammoths skull , Profile , Quaternary code , Semantics

Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи

Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering (KazLAACE), 28 Ryskulbekov street, Almaty, 050043, Kazakhstan

Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering (KazLAACE)

10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель

Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026