Bone Tool and Personal Ornaments from the Holocene Deposits of Denisova Cave: New Evidence

Purpose. In the course of many years of research at Denisova Cave, numerous archaeological materials were obtained reflecting various aspects of the economic activity in the karst cavity by various human populations from the early stages of the Middle Paleolithic until the near past. In the article we introduce previously unpublished data on bone tools and personal ornaments from Holocene deposits of Denisova Cave into scientific circulation. Results. We analyzed a totally of 28 artefacts during the work: 16 relate to the bone or antler items, and 12 relate to the ornaments and its blanks. The earliest artifact of the first group is a fragment of a bone perforator from the layer of Afanasyevo culture. The most numerous items are round, petiolate, and inset arrowheads of the Early Iron Age; a fragment of an antler muff and a cup from the skull of an ungulate animal belong to the same time. A harpoon tip with a tamga carved on it belongs to the Hunno-Sarmatian period. Among the ornaments, the most ancient is a pendant from a goat or roe deer incisor, originating from the Afanasyevo cultural horizon. The Early Iron Age ornamental complex includes beads of various sizes made of glass paste and a lynx claw pendant. Accurate cultural and chronological attribution of a number of ornaments proved impossible due to its discovery outside the stratigraphic context and the presence of analogues in a wide cultural and chronological range. Conclusion. The assemblage considered in this article significantly complements the previously obtained data on bone tools and ornaments used by the ancient population of the Altai Mountains. In addition to the material that is typical of a wide range of sites, rare and unique artifacts were identified in the collection that were not marked on other sites or were previously known from isolated finds.