Exploring Mammoth Bone Accumulations In Central Europe

Introduction

The discovery of large accumulations of woolly mammoth remains together with Upper Palaeolithic artefacts has fascinated both researchers and the general public since the 19th century. Despite many years of scientific research and dispute, our knowledge about these sites and the relationship between mammoths and contemporaneous Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers remains incomplete.

Project Focus

This project focuses on the mammoth bone accumulations found in the West Carpathian forelands. It seeks to establish why these accumulations formed and their function for hunter-gatherer groups 35,000-25,000 years ago – a period of major techno-cultural and environmental change in approaching the Last Glacial Maximum.

Research Methodology

For the first time, we will study materials covering the full chronological range of this archaeological phenomenon. This will include:

1. Existing collections
2. New fieldwork at key sites such as:
   • Dolní Věstonice I
   • Kraków Spadzista
   • Langmannersdorf

Site-specific signals of human-mammoth interaction within their local palaeoenvironmental context will be used to investigate chrono-spatial changes in both mammoth populations and hunter-gatherer societies.

Technological Advances

We will employ standardised field and laboratory protocols that utilise recent methodological and technological advances in:

• Ancient DNA research
• Stable isotope studies
• Radiometric dating
• Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction
• Palaeodemographic modelling

Expected Outcomes

The resulting dataset will allow an integrated investigation of the formation of mammoth bone accumulations. It is expected to produce a statistically analysable dataset that reveals the interactions between human and mammoth populations in Central Europe in the context of palaeoenvironmental changes.

This research will have a significant impact not only for Upper Palaeolithic research in Central Europe but will also contribute to an improved understanding of human behaviour, cultural developments, and human adaptation to dynamically changing climatic and environmental conditions.