Bone tools and personal adornments of the early Upper Paleolithic from the south chamber of Denisova cave (collection of 2019)

In 2019, the study of the Upper Pleistocene deposits of layer 11 in the South Chamber of Denisova cave resulted in discovering a series of bone tools and personal adornments consisting of 20 objects. Bone inventory includes six artifacts -extended narrow point made of mammoth ivory, spatulate, awls, and fragment of unidentifiable bone tool with polished wear traces. Most of these tools were associated with making clothes of leather and fur, or hunting. The collection of personal adornments is represented by a series of 14 objects of several types -pendants with ringed carving and drilled holes, plate with ornamental decoration, flat beads and tubular bead, as well as unidentifiable fragments of pendants or blanks. Teeth of herbivorous and predatory mammals, tubular animal bones, semiprecious stones, and shell of ostrich egg were used for manufacturing the adornments. The study of the Early Upper Paleolithic evidence from the South Chamber of Denisova cave has made it possible to identify several technologies for manufacturing adornments, which involved sequential implementation of short or long set of operations. Trace analysis has shown several varieties of wear on the majority of the adornments, associated with their use. Microscopic analysis of the objects of non-utilitarian purpose has revealed the remains of red ochreous pigment in the form of individual particles and coloration spots on the surface of four adornments. Further study of pigment remains on the artifacts and in the deposits of Denisova Cave will make it possible to give a detailed description of the earliest production technologies and features of the pigment use in Northern and Central Asia.