Sungir

Upper Palaeolithic site near Vladimir, European Russia, occupied c 25,000-20,000 BC. It is by far the most northeastern of the rich Upper Palaeolithic sites of Europe and there is a strong Mousterian element in the stone artifacts. The skeletons found buried on the site had archaic features such as large brow ridges. The single and double burial are of interest for the numerous beads and other grave goods left with them allowing the reconstruction of clothing details. Radiocarbon dates range from c 25,500-14,600 bp. The artifacts have been compared to the Strelets culture assemblages of Kostenki.

An open site of the Strelestsky-Sungir culture some 200 km east-northeast of Moscow, occupied c20,000-25,000 be. It is by far the north-easternmost of the rich Upper Palaeolithic sites, although sites close to the Arctic Circle are known. There is a strong Mousterian element in the stone artefacts, and the skeletons found buried on the site had such archaic features as large brow ridges. The single and double burial are of outstanding interest for the numerous beads and other grave goods left with them, allowing among other things the reconstruction of many details of clothing.