Mammoth bone structures: A Comparison of Dolní Věstonice and Spadzista Street Site in Kraków

Abstract

The interpretation of accumulations of mammoth bones has been a long-term subject of archaeozoological studies. As the issue is typically approached from a taphonomic perspective, the broad spectrum of represented bones, especially the presence of large, non-meat bones, is taken as evidence of the local death of animals – either through natural causes or as a consequence of hunting. The number of mandibles and lower molars are used to calculate the number of hunted individuals, as they are the most frequently represented element. However, this approach faces numerous pitfalls. Interpretations, even contradictory, always neglect some important fact, especially associations with artefacts and the living floor. In our opinion, the use of ethnohistorical knowledge could mitigate, alleviate or eliminate some of the discrepancies. The fact that these enormous bone accumulations are typical only for the Gravettian (s. lato) underscores their culturally conditioned character. A traditional source of controversial interpretations is the well-known mammoth bone heap at Kraków – St. Bronislawa Hill (Spadzista Street B+B1). Until recently, all that was known from the classic settlement agglomeration of “mammoth hunters” near Dolní Věstonice was a “large accumulation of mammoth bones” studied by B. Klíma. However, based on unpublished terrain documentation, it has recently been possible to reconstruct several other accumulations directly in the base camp in the upper part of the Dolní Věstonice I site. The various phenomena with which the bone depositions there are associated provide new impulses for additional discussions.