Afontova Gora

56°01′35″N 92°44′10″E / 56.026404°N 92.736156°E / 56.026404; 92.736156

Afontova Gora
Location of Afontova Gora
Geographical rangeSiberia
PeriodLate Upper Paleolithic
Mesolithic
Datesc. 18,000-12,000 BP[1]
Preceded byMal'ta–Buret' culture
Followed byAfanasievo culture
Okunevo culture
Tools from Afontova Gora in the Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum

Afontova Gora (Russian: Афонтова гора, "Afont Mountain") is a Late Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic Siberian complex of archaeological sites located on the left bank of the Yenisey River near the city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Afontova Gora has cultural and genetic links to the people from Mal'ta–Buret'. The complex was first excavated in 1884 by Ivan Savenkov [ru].[2]

The Afontova Gora complex consists of multiple stratigraphic layers, of five or more campsites.[2] The campsites shows evidence of mammoth hunting and were likely the result of an eastward expansion of mammoth hunters.[3] The human fossils discovered at Afontova Gora, a male and a girl dated to 17,000~15,000 years BP, were stored in the Hermitage Museum.[2]

  1. ^ Vasil'ev, Sergey A. (1992). "The Late Paleolithic of the Yenisei: A New Outline". Journal of World Prehistory. 6 (3): 337. ISSN 0892-7537. p.337 "At 18,000-16,000 B.P., these were replaced by the Final Paleolithic Afontova and Kokorevo cultures" (...) p.355 "The radiocarbon dates for the cross sections of Afontova Gora II [11,330 B.P. +/ 270 years (Mo-343) and 20,900 B.P. + 300 years (GIN-117)] seem unlikely."
  2. ^ a b c Turner II, Ovodov & Pavlova 2013, p. 54-55.
  3. ^ Hopkins 2013, p. 394-397.