The Kostyonki–Borshchyovo archaeological complex is an area where numerous Upper Paleolithic archaeological sites have been found, located around the villages of Kostyonki and Borshchyovo. The area is found on the western (right) bank of the Don River in Khokholsky District, Voronezh Oblast, Russia, some 25 km south of the city of Voronezh.
The 26 Paleolithic sites of the area are numbered Kostenki 1–21 and Borshchevo 1–5.
Mammoth bones on exhibit in Kostyonki museum
Kostyonki terrain model
Venus figurine of Kostyonki, Gravettian, ca. 25.000 BP
Reconstruction of Homo Sapiens from the Kostenki 14 site, by M.M. Gerasimov. State Archaeological Museum-Reserve Kostenki
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago, according to some theories coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity in early modern humans, until the advent of the Neolithic Revolution and agriculture.
Löwenmensch, a prehistoric ivory sculpture discovered in Hohlenstein-Stadel, c. 40,000–35,000 years old
Expansion of early modern humans from Africa
Flint Knives, Ahmarian Culture, Nahal Boqer, Israel, 47,000–40,000 BP. Israel Museum.
Stone core for making fine blades, Boqer Tachtit, Negev, Israel, circa 40,000 BP
