An article by Tamara Zubchuk on siberiantimes.com - Paleolithic jewellery still eye-catching after 50,000 years - reports on jewellery beads made from ostrich eggs discovered in the Denisova cave in the Altai region of Siberia.

Jewellery beads made from ostrich eggs discovered in the Denisova cave. Image: Maksim Kozlikin

The beads, created some 2,000 generations ago, reveal sophisticated skills. Researchers, including Maksim Kozlikin, researcher at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Novosibirsk, are now questioning the origins of the ostrich eggshells, or where the beads were made. Perfectly drilled by a fine stone drill, they believe them to be between 45,000 and 50,000 years old.

Palaeolithic jewellery discovered in #Denisova cave #archaeology https://t.co/pIGIUqYsel #Altai #Siberia pic.twitter.com/BqWBUMhly6

— Bradshaw Foundation (@BradshawFND) November 2, 2016

Images: Vera Salnitskaya & Lucinda Backwell 

The beads, one centimetre in diameter with a hole inside slightly wider than a millimetre, may have been sewn into clothing, or formed part of a bracelet or necklace.

The beads may have been exported from Trans-Baikal or Mongolia with the beads manufactured at Denisova, or made elsewhere and delivered to the Altai Mountains perhaps in an exchange.

The beads were discovered in the Denisova Cave's 'lucky' eleventh layer. Excavations have been underway in the cave for three decades. In August researchers discovered a 50,000 year old needle made of bone.

Read the full article:
http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/n0789-paleolithic-jewellery-still-eye-catching-after-50000-years/