Daniel Lysenko, a researcher at the Krasnoyarsk Center for Archaeological Geology, notes that during excavations in Krasnoyarsk, archaeologists discovered a unique stone pendant made about 17,500 years ago.
According to him, this necklace may have been used as a calendar, to help the ancient inhabitants of the banks of the Yenisei River track the movement of the stars and their personal periods.
He says: "We are conducting excavations at an archaeological site dating back to the Paleolithic era at the mouth of the Bazaikha River in Krasnoyarsk. During the excavations, we found a unique artifact, a small pendant made from a flat, oval-shaped pebble of light gray rock. The ancient craftsman pierced it and engraved on it a pattern of 25 repeating notches in a regular rhythm around its perimeter. In the center of the piece is a pale red spot, possibly applied using ochre, and this is still under investigation."
He indicates that the layer in which the stone calendar was found is between 17,000 and 17,500 years old.
According to him, experts believe the pendant played a symbolic role and was deliberately left at the site, perhaps as an offering to spirits or during an initiation rite. The ochre stain in the center of the piece may also have ritual significance, perhaps representing a drop of blood.
Tatiana Korneva, a researcher at the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences, points out that the symbolic meaning of the pendant is evident from the circumstances of its discovery. It was hidden, along with several stone fragments, beneath a large, broken pebble.
She says: “Our ancestors had to remember, preserve, and pass on a huge amount of accumulated knowledge, including that related to the calendar cycle, to their descendants. Therefore, archaeologists are always careful to count the lines on these artifacts accurately, trying to understand the meaning behind these numbers. For example, the number of notches in most pieces similar to this necklace ranges between 23 and 30 notches, which can be linked to the number of days in the lunar and solar month.”
This necklace is distinguished by its unique appearance and has no direct parallel in the Yenisei Paleolithic period. Bone jewelry is more common at sites in this region. The necklace, found on the banks of the Bazaikha River, bears some resemblance to jewelry discovered at sites in the Irkutsk and Buryatia regions, as well as scattered artifacts from sites in Georgia, Southern Europe, and France.
