22/09/2026
A study published in Nature partner journal Heritage Science involved the analysis of eighteen so-called Venus figurines made from mammoth ivory. These had been excavated over 100 years ago at the Mizyn campsite in Northern Ukraine.
The main part of the research took place in 2025, when Simon Radchenko spent a research stay in York as part of his postdoctoral project. Meanwhile, Ukrainian colleagues kept working on digital preservation and the study of cultural heritage at risk, following the continuous Russian attacks on museums in Ukraine. The published paper marks one of the results of this collaboration. The other is establishing a longer collaborative framework between the University of York and Ukrainian institutions, leading to more collaborative efforts soon to be announced.
The team, coordinated by Simon Radchenko Scientific and research lab "Archaic", included six researchers from Ukraine (Museum of History of Ukraine) Національний музей історії України, Norway (University of Stavanger), @ the UK (Centre of Artefacts and Materials Analysis, University of York), and Germany (Leibniz Center for Archaeology). Researchers were able to describe the whole production cycle of the 18 000 year old figurines, revealing insights into the logic and inspiration sources for their intricate ornamentation.
The study shows that the growth lines of mammoth tusks, called Schreger lines and Owen lines, were observed, adored, and reproduced on the surface of ivory objects from the Ukrainian Ice Age. Digital tools provided a new level of detail, showing that the ornaments not only repeat the natural lines but also structure the figurines’ composition following this pattern.
Furthermore, researchers observed traces of careful planning and laying out the anthropomorphic design, confirming the innovative trend of imaging – a combination of the 2D anthropomorphic image and the 3D anthropomorph this image is carved on. Altogether, this introduces figurines from Mizyn as creations of a different creative complexity than those known from the region before.
This discovery offers an extraordinary window into how Palaeolithic peoples perceived and engaged with their material world. Identifying visual evidence of how mammoths were integrated into artistic traditions, both through the use of their ivory and the deliberate inscription of its natural patterns, represents a genuine breakthrough in our understanding of prehistoric art and material culture.
Read more via our news story and follow the links through to the published article:
Intricate designs engraved across the surface of 18,000-year-old female figurines carved from mammoth ivory were inspired by the distinctive growth patterns visible in the tusks, a new study has revealed.
