A multinational team led by researchers from the State Hermitage Museum collaborated with the Institute of Zoolology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg and included partners from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in France and the University of Lodz in Poland. Their study centers on thousands of bird bones from seven Neolithic sites in the Dnieper-Dvina region that ultimately lie within today’s Smolensk region. The findings were shared with the public through the Russian Science Foundation, which funded the project. The work underscores how past hunter-gatherer communities in this corridor connected animal life with daily tools and symbolic objects, showing a deep entanglement between birds and early northern Eurasian societies.
Researchers examined the remains of 757 birds, dating from roughly 6,000 to 3,000 BCE. The material was gathered across expeditions spanning five decades, from 1970 to 2023. By comparing the Neolithic bones with modern specimens, the team identified 57 bird species across four ecological groups: semi-aquatic, forest, edge, and meadow-steppe. The abundance of water bodies in the Smolensk region is reflected in the data, with waterfowl bones accounting for as much as 93 percent of the assemblage. The work demonstrates how landscape features shaped the living environment and resource use of these early communities, including the management and exploitation of birds for food, clothing, and tools.
One of the striking discoveries is how ancient migration pathways of birds shifted across time, influenced by climatic and geographic changes in the region. The record includes species such as red-throated loons, golden herons, Dalmatian pelicans, warblers, and night herons, indicating movements that extended far beyond today’s Smolensk area. Modern ranges for several of these species now trace routes far to the south or north, illustrating long-term shifts in avian distribution across present-day Russia and neighboring territories. The study also demonstrates that early people were attuned to avian life well beyond simple hunt-and-store practices, incorporating birds into everyday objects and rituals. Bird-shaped figurines, tools fashioned from bones, and various decorative items reveal a culture deeply linked to birds as symbols, resources, and talismans used in ceremonies or daily life.
Beyond archaeological finds, the research highlights the broader significance of birds to Stone Age lifeways in the eastern European forest-steppe belt. Analysis shows how the beak, bone, and feather materials could be repurposed for tool production, jewelry, and ritual artifacts, illustrating a sophisticated understanding of avian biology and material culture. The project also builds on prior archaeobotanical and faunal work that has outlined the important role beavers played in nearby Stone Age communities, adding another layer to the complex picture of subsistence and cultural meaning in the region. The researchers emphasize that birds were not merely a food source but a dynamic element in technology, ornamentation, and belief systems across Northern Europe during the Neolithic period.