SENSATIONAL FIND REACHES THE HANDS OF KOZYBAYEV UNIVERSITY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

Professor of Kozybayev University, Candidate of Historical Sciences Anatoly Pleshakov presented a unique artifact to the public—a mammoth femur found recently near the village of Baiterek in the Kyzylzhar district of the North Kazakhstan region. It was accidentally discovered during fishing by NKR resident Asset Shaikin, who handed it over to the well-known archaeologist. Together with Anatoly Pleshakov, they traveled to the site of the discovery and inspected the territory. However, nothing else could be found. Probably, the other parts of the ancient animal are under layers of soil, the historian noted.

"This is a quite interesting find. It is about 1 meter long. We date its age to the Upper Paleolithic era. This is about 15,000 years ago. It belonged to a very large individual. Previously, remains of ancient animals have already been found on the territory of the NKR. Next year, we will try to dig test pits (shurfs) at the discovery site. And if we manage to find the continuation of the skeleton and tools there, it will be a sensation—the first Paleolithic site on our territory," reported Anatoly Andreyevich.

Digging test pits or conducting a trial excavation (a rectangular pit) will make it possible to determine the presence of cultural layers and artifacts in a specific area, evaluate the stratigraphy, and decide whether it is worth conducting further full-scale excavations at this site.

It is worth noting that Anatoly Pleshakov heads the North Kazakhstan Archaeological Expedition, which, in addition to scientists, includes history students from Kozybayev University. This year, they worked on two ancient monuments—the settlements of Botai and Ak-Iriy in the NKR. The next archaeological season promises to be even more eventful and will allow researchers to make new scientific discoveries.