18,000-Year-Old Mammoth-Ivory Figurines Reveal How Paleolithic Artists Used Natural Patterns

About 18,000 years ago, artists in what is now northern Ukraine carved small female figures from mammoth ivory. New research suggests that the zigzag, meandering and parallel designs on the figurines were not purely invented: many appear to reflect the ivory’s natural internal structure.

Studying Upper Paleolithic figurines

“The study of Upper Paleolithic figurines in Europe has helped define two important boundaries in human history: the emergence of figurative language and the transition to abstract, diagrammatic artistic design,” said archaeologist Simon Radchenko of the University of Stavanger.

“The nature and chronology of these developments, which have unfolded over more than 30,000 years, remain unclear.”

For the new study, archaeologists examined 18 anthropomorphic mammoth-ivory figurines from Mizyn, also known as Mezin, an archaeological site in Ukraine known for circular structures built from mammoth bones.

Eleven of the figurines were discovered during excavations in 1908 and 1909. Seven more were found about four years later. The figurines are estimated to be between 18,800 and 17,400 years old, placing them within the site’s Epigravettian context.

Digital preservation during wartime

In 2022, the National Museum of History of Ukraine granted researchers limited access to the artifacts for digital preservation. The project formed part of wider efforts to protect Ukraine’s cultural heritage while the country’s museums and archaeological collections remain threatened by Russian aggression.

Radchenko and his colleagues used photogrammetry to create high-resolution 3D models of the figurines. They also used digital microscopy to examine the marks left by stone tools.

The researchers measured 97 carvings. Their cross-sections suggested that the flint blades were frequently replaced and that different tools or cutting strategies were used in different parts of the designs.

“Such projects not only deepen our understanding of the past, but also create new research opportunities,” said Dr. Oleksandr Naumenko, a researcher at the National Museum of History of Ukraine.

“Creating high-quality digital records of artifacts is an important step in preserving them, as war continues to threaten Ukraine’s cultural heritage.”

Natural patterns inside mammoth tusks

Mammoth ivory has a distinctive internal structure. By studying that structure, the researchers were able to identify which part of the tusk had been used to make the figurines and infer how the ivory was extracted.

“The morphometric axes of all 18 Mizyn anthropomorphic figures coincide with the longitudinal axis of the mammoth ivory nucleus,” the researchers said.

All of the statuettes were made from the central portion of the ivory. This is indicated by the Schreger pattern—the natural cross-hatching visible in transverse breaks of tusk dentin—and the Owen lines, a system of concentric dentin growth lines visible in cross-section.

The researchers found that the zigzag decorations on some figurines resemble the ivory’s Schreger lines. The meandering and parallel lines on others appear to reflect the Owen lines. In some examples, the carved meanders roughly correspond to the natural growth rings in the ivory.

These motifs were placed in areas where the natural patterns were most visible. The findings suggest that the artists were actively responding to the physical properties of mammoth ivory rather than simply imitating patterns they happened to notice.

A more complex history of prehistoric art

Amy Little, an archaeologist at the University of York, said the discovery provides “extraordinary insight into how Paleolithic people perceived and interacted with the physical world.”

“Identifying visual evidence of how mammoths were incorporated into artistic traditions, both through the use of mammoth ivory and the intentional imprinting of natural patterns, represents a real advance in our understanding of prehistoric art and material culture,” Little said.

“Our findings cast doubt on the long-held assumption that ancient art simply evolved linearly from basic to complex forms,” said archaeologist Dr. Dmytro Kiosak of the Leibniz Center for Archaeology.

“We are optimistic that future digital research will shed further light on the emergence and development of artistic expression in Europe, presenting a more complex and interesting picture than the present one,” Radchenko concluded.

The study was published in npj Heritage Science.

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S. Radchenko et al. “The internal structure of mammoth ivory influenced the design of Upper Paleolithic figurines in Myzin (Ukraine).” npj Heritage Science, published online September 11, 2026. doi: 10.1038/s40494-026-02988-5.