Contribution to the architecture of Upper Palaeolithic dwellings - Valoch - 2013

At the well-known Upper Palaeolithic campsite at Předmostí near Přerov (Czechoslovakia), the first excavations realised in 1880 to 1896 yielded a large amount of animal bones which are now deposited in the palaeontological collections of the Anthropos Institute in Brno. During conservation work and detailed studies realised in recent years, a number of bones with pits were found, including five remarkable mammoth pelvic bones. Analogically to similar artefacts found at various Upper Palaeolithic campsites in the Soviet Union (at Mezhirich in the Ukraine and at Yudinovo in White Russia) we can say that they served as construction elements for shelters, which were in use for more than one season. It appears that the pelvic bones were sunk into the ground, the earth above them was compacted and the posts being part of the shelter structure were fitted into the pits. The purpose of the use of pelvic bones to support the posts was to prevent the latter from sinking into the ground during spring thaw or after violent downpours of rain, when the surface of the permafrost-affected loess was converted to a muddy mass. This article is a reprint of a previously published article (Valoch K., 1987: Anthropologie (Brno) 25, 2: 115-116).

Keywords

Předmostí (Czechoslovakia) - Upper Palaeolithic dwellings - Mammoth bones with pit

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