Russian archaeologists reveal a bone-made matryoshka-esque artifact from Western Siberia
Researchers from Russia have studied a curious bone artifact resembling a nested doll, similar to a traditional matryoshka toy, discovered in Western Siberia. The find was reported by the press service of the Russian News Agency for Science, the RNF.
The piece was uncovered at the Volchya Griva archaeological site in the Novosibirsk region. This location is renowned for the abundance of mammoth bones and other ancient remains buried during the last glacial period, offering a window into the lives of early hunter-gatherers. Nearby, stone tools are found at a site nicknamed Wolf’s Mane, with the surprising detail that the nearest stone source lies about 90 kilometers away, implying long-distance transport of tool kits by prehistoric communities.
In 2020, researchers from Tomsk University and collaborating institutions identified a zone with an exceptionally dense array of lithic flakes, averaging roughly 1,400 tool units per square meter, alongside an ash-rich layer. This pattern points to a substantial, long-standing settlement dating back around 23,000 years, where people refined skins and manufactured tools. Within this context, scientists recovered a unique bone object lacking clear parallels, triggering interest in its original role and meaning. The researchers described its appearance as a “matryoshka-like” piece, noting how several bone elements seem to nest or interlock within a single framework.
The team documented a fragmentary skull, a lower jaw, and a tusk from an Arctic fox, together with a rib from a large mammal. These bones were inserted into a carved rectangular niche inside a mammoth femur about 8 cm deep. The fox bones and teeth were integrated into the niche with a mixture of sand, clay, and abundant ash, suggesting careful assembly as part of the artifact’s creation. Analysts studied cracks and chips in the structures, using experiments on fresh bones from modern elephants to infer possible techniques. The femur most likely came from a young mammoth that died in recent times. Excavation relied on a combination of large stone chisels and a delicate bone tool with a working fragment around 10 mm wide. The mammoth bone also bears flakes indicating it may have functioned as a passive retoucher, a tool people used to refine the cavities of other stones. Cut marks observed on the Arctic fox skull suggest skinning activities linked to hide processing or garment making.
Experts currently lack a definitive explanation for the purpose of this artifact. The prevailing hypothesis is that it may have served a ritual function, acted as a totem, functioned as a children’s toy, or simply represented a meaningful collectible or status item within the community. The discovery adds to the growing record of complex symbolic behavior among ancient populations in this region and invites further comparative study with other late-Pleistocene finds across Siberia and adjacent territories.
As researchers continue to analyze the materials, they aim to clarify how such nested bone structures were conceived, manufactured, and employed within the broader landscape of prehistoric technology and social life in northern Eurasia.