Mikhail G. Zhilin^1,*, Anton A. Simonenko^2,**, and Vladimir L. Ruev^3,***

¹Institute of Archaeology RAS, Moscow, Russia
²The State Historical Museum, Moscow, Russia
³V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Russia

*E-mail: mizhilin@yandex.ru
**E-mail: simonenkoaa@yandex.ru
***E-mail: vl.ruev@gmail.com

Keywords: Eastern Europe, the Crimea, ornaments, teeth, red deer, cave lion, Paleolithic, Mesolithic.

The Zamil-Koba I site in the Southwestern Crimea was found and excavated by D.A. Krainov in 1935–1937. Two layers of the Stone Age were traced. The top layer belongs to the Murzak-Koba culture and dates back to the first half of the Boreal period. It produced three red deer incisors with grooves on the dental neck. The lower layer belongs to the Shan-Koba culture and dates back to the first half of the Allerod. Two pendants made of animal teeth were found in this layer. The first pendant is made of a red deer canine, with a hole drilled at the end of the root. Several geometrized images are engraved on the root of the tooth, traces of red paint are visible. Intensive wear indicates prolonged use of this pendant. The second pendant is made of the upper left fang of a female cave lion. The surface shows signs of processing and signs of wear typical for pendants. The end of the root and the end of the enamel are broken off along the grooves. After the root was broken, it was not disposed of, but was probably used as an amulet. Analogies to this artefact are unknown to the authors, although pendants made of predator fangs were widespread in the Late Paleolithic and Mesolithic of Eastern Europe.

DOI: 10.31857/S0869606325030207