EASTERN GRAVETTIAN · ≈23,000–21,000 YEARS

Zaraysk Bison

A bison placed upside down in a small pit

This small bison figure retains ochre traces and was found placed upside down in a pit.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

AI-assisted interpretive edition of the original Zaraysk A ivory bison, with damaged legs and incisions preserved at editorial scale, on black background. — **RECONSTRUCTION FROM ORIGINAL · AI · CC BY-SA 4.0**
Reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Vash Alex kun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. AI-assisted interpretive edition. Original figure with damaged legs, incisions and major fractures preserved. Texture and microfissures have been reinterpreted upon enlarging the small piece from the photograph; not a facsimile or document for trace analysis. Does not certify the minimum surface hidden by support/label. Sex, rite and meaning are not represented as facts. Not an archaeological photograph or certified restitution. Microdetails, finish and colour are interpretive approximations.
Tracekeepers / OpenAI ImageGen; source photograph: Vash Alex kun · Zaraysk Kremlin State Museum-Reserve · Inventory: Número de acceso no confirmado · CC BY-SA 4.0
Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗

**RECONSTRUCTION FROM ORIGINAL · AI · CC BY-SA 4.0**
Reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Vash Alex kun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. AI-assisted interpretive edition. Original figure with damaged legs, incisions and major fractures preserved. Texture and microfissures have been reinterpreted upon enlarging the small piece from the photograph; not a facsimile or document for trace analysis. Does not certify the minimum surface hidden by support/label. Sex, rite and meaning are not represented as facts. Not an archaeological photograph or certified restitution. Microdetails, finish and colour are interpretive approximations.
Tracekeepers / OpenAI ImageGen; source photograph: Vash Alex kun · Zaraysk Kremlin State Museum-Reserve · Inventory: Número de acceso no confirmado · CC BY-SA 4.0
Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗

Explore in 3D

Load the model only when you want to explore it. Drag or use the arrow keys to turn it; + and − zoom. Closing it releases its memory.

User-contributed digital reconstruction; file metadata declares Tripo. It is not an archaeological scan nor a metric replica. The display scale is indicative, not a measurement of the original; the contributed geometry is preserved intact. Interpretation of the Zaraysk bison figure, not a living animal. Volume, texture and details are contrasted with the catalogue sources, not with an authenticity deduced from the digital file.

History and context

The free-standing ivory sculpture, 16.4 centimetres long, was found in 2001 at Zaraysk A. It models a compact bison and retains red ochre; the legs were damaged and the body was placed in a small prepared deposit.

It has been proposed that it represents a female and that its burial participated in a hunting rite. These are possible readings, not facts. What is extraordinary is the material sequence: carving, pigment, damage and intentional deposition.

Evidence and interpretation

Ivory, morphology, ochre and prepared context are documented. Sex, symbolic death and hunting magic cannot be proven.

Catalogue facts

Date: ≈23,000–21,000 years
Location: Zaraysk A · Moscow Oblast, Russia
Material and length: Mammoth ivory · 16.4 cm
Find context: 2001 · prepared deposit

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

You are viewing

≈23,000–21,000 years

Zaraysk Bison

Prehistory

Approximate catalogue age; editorial reference 2026 for ordering only, not calibrated dating.

Current record

Ivory11 dated objects

5 / 11In the centre: Zaraysk Bison

Also connected, without a comparable date (1)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

Nile towards NubiaAncient Egypt · ca. 3300–2800 BCE

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Figurines

Hohle Fels · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · Prehistory
Willendorf · ≈29,500 years · Prehistory
Brno II Articulated Figure · ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association · Prehistory
Dolní Věstonice I · ≈29,000–27,000 years · Prehistory
Lespugue · ≈28,000 years · Prehistory
Kostenki I · ≈23,000–21,000 years · Prehistory
Zaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · Prehistory — You are viewing
Worshiper of Tell Asmar · Towards 2900–2600 BCE · Sumer
Offering 4 · c. 800–600 BCE · Maya worlds
Kushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Iberians
Shabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient Egypt
La Venta grave goods · ca. 600–400 BCE · Maya worlds
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Thracian Gladiator from Cádiz · 67–100 CE · Etruscans and Rome

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Animal imagery

Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · Prehistory
Before the San · ≈25.500–23.500 BCE · San histories
Before the name San · ≈25.500–23.500 BCE · San histories
Altamira · Assemblage ≈36,000–13,000 BP · bison ≈18,400–15,300 cal BP · Prehistory
Lascaux · ≈23,500–21,000 cal BP · debated contextual estimate · Prehistory
Zaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · Prehistory — You are viewing
Rondelle de Mas-d'Azil · ≈18,000–16,000 years · Prehistory
Lamp from La Mouthe · ≈20,500–13,000 years · Magdalenian framework · Prehistory
Engraved stone from Çakmaktepe · PPNA · site proposal: ≈9600–8800 BCE, provisional · Prehistory
Cueva de las Manos · Sequence ≈9300–1300 BP · Prehistory
Cylinder seal · c. 3500–3100 BCE · Sumer
Queen's Lyre · ca. 2600–2500 BCE · Sumer
The goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Indus seals · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Queen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · Sumer
Bull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worlds
Stag Vessel · 14th–13th centuries BCE · Hittites
Before the Scythians and Sakas · Final Bronze–Initial Iron, ca. 1200–600 BCE · Scythians and Saka
Ivory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Lamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · Sumer
The Tello Obelisk · c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Ashurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · Sumer
Banquet under leopards · Around 480–470 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The oldest knotted carpet · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Thoth in the form of a baboon · 664–30 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Poroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Borovo · 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog. · Thracians
Leipzig Fish Plate · Last third 4th–early 3rd century BCE · Greek worlds
Dove of the Amarejo · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Chão de Lamas pectoral · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · concealed in the early 1st century BCE · Iberians
Fibula from Lancia · ≈300–100 BCE · Iberians
Horse fibula · 2nd century BCE · disputed chronology · Iberians
The dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds
Kalathos of Alcorisa · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Iberians
Egyptian oil lamp with a fish, held in Laon · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Ancient Egypt
Laon lamp with fish · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Etruscans and Rome
Gold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worlds
Zimbabwe birds · main period of Great Zimbabwe, c. 12th–15th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Bhimbetka · Mesolithic–historical and medieval period · Prehistory
Eland Cave · Regional tradition of ≈4,000 years · up to historical period · Prehistory
Fawn spear-thrower · Middle Magdalenian · Prehistory
Game Pass Shelter · Regional rock art chronology · panel not dated in isolation · San histories
Kakadu · Regional corpus ≈20,000 BP–contemporary era · Prehistory
Leang Karampuang · Minimum 51,200 years · dating published in 2024 · Prehistory
Sierra de San Francisco · Broad tradition with direct dates ≈5290–295 BP · Prehistory
Tassili n’Ajjer · Corpus ≈6000 BCE–first centuries CE · Prehistory
The Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · Thracians
Trumpet from Numantia · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians

Sculpture

Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · Prehistory
Lespugue · ≈28,000 years · Prehistory
Zaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · Prehistory — You are viewing
Shigir Idol · C. 10,000 BCE · approximation; debated dating · Prehistory
Warka Mask · End of the 4th millennium BCE · Sumer
Gebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient Egypt
Uruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · Sumer
Narmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Before Yayoi · Middle Jōmon, ca. 3000 BCE · Yayoi Japan
Ur-Nanshe relief · Mid-3rd millennium BCE · reign of Ur-Nanshe · Sumer
The goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Stele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · Sumer
Akkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Bassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Naram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · Sumer
Before Pre-Inca Cultures · Kotosh-Mito Tradition, c. 2200–1500 BCE; the enclosure is usually situated around 1800 BCE. · Pre-Inca cultures
Queen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · Sumer
Bull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worlds
Wooden faces · c. 1600–1000 BCE, in several phases · Maya worlds
Head 2 · c. 1200–900 BCE · Maya worlds
The voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · Phoenicians
Before the Scythians and Sakas · Final Bronze–Initial Iron, ca. 1200–600 BCE · Scythians and Saka
Black Obelisk · 825 BCE · Sumer
Ivory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Las Limas · c. 1000–600 BCE · Maya worlds
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Phoenicians
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Iberians
Lamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · Sumer
The Lanzón · c. 900–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Stele of Esarhaddon · 7th century BC C. · 671 campaign BCE · Sumer
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Iberians
The Tello Obelisk · c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Ashurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · Sumer
Heads on the wall · c. 800–300 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Two voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The god on the roof · Towards 510–500 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Glazed brick guards · 522–486 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Twenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid Persia
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · Phoenicians
The statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
The Raimondi Stele · c. 400–200 BCE according to MNAAHP · Pre-Inca cultures
Torreáguila fountain spout · 101–125 CE · Etruscans and Rome
The date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worlds
Articulated doll from Tarragona · Late 3rd–4th century CE · Etruscans and Rome
Seven heads · c. 500–700 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds
Seated figure · 13th century, date attributed by the museum · Mande Worlds
Gold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worlds
Zimbabwe birds · main period of Great Zimbabwe, c. 12th–15th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds
Kongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds
Kuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Lararium of Vilauba · Roman period · Etruscans and Rome
The Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · Thracians

A closer look

About 3 min to read · 7 sections. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 18, 2026.

The pit preserves more than the figure

The excavation publication describes, beneath the bison's neck, a small tubular animal bone with transverse cuts; a mammoth tooth fragment also appeared at the bottom. Those deposit details matter as much as the ivory silhouette. Drawing levels and positions allows the study of an association that would disappear if only the sculpture were kept in a display case. The gathering of different materials invites investigation into how the pit was prepared, but does not by itself prove a sacrifice or a hunting magic formula.

Research · Amirkhanov and Lev · Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, study of the Zaraysk bison, 2009Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

A bison made from another animal's tusk

The sculptor worked a fragment of mammoth tusk. According to Wolf and Conard's documentation, they oriented the bison's head towards the tusk's cavity and the tail towards its tip. They did not, therefore, start from a uniform block: they had to resolve the figure within a material with its own structure. When viewing the animal in profile, it is worth remembering that relationship between the chosen form and the available material, in addition to appreciating its anatomy.

Research · Sibylle Wolf and Nicholas J. Conard — Urformen: Figürliche Eiszeitkunst Europas (2022)Access recorded: September 18, 2026.

What a study replica teaches

The Urformen project brought together researchers and ivory carvers to study and reproduce Palaeolithic sculptures, including this bison. A replica allows volumes that a frontal photograph does not explain well to be observed and forces one to confront carving decisions. But the project also used modern tools and reconstructions of lost parts. That is why it does not equate to exactly repeating the Palaeolithic work. It is a way of investigating possibilities, provided one distinguishes what is copied from the original from what is added.

Research · Sibylle Wolf and Nicholas J. Conard — Urformen: Figürliche Eiszeitkunst Europas (2022)Access recorded: September 18, 2026.

The red was not only where first seen

Pakhunov and Lev's photographic analysis examined the colour distribution on the surface. By increasing contrast, red traces were recognised in more areas than were evident to the naked eye, including parts of the back and belly. This type of work does not consist of freely colouring the sculpture to make it more attractive. It seeks to record preserved traces, compare their position and distinguish them from the appearance produced by lighting or a conventional photograph.

Research · A. S. Pakhunov and S. Yu. Lev — Research photography of the Zaraysk bison sculpture, KSIA 241 (2015), pp. 20–27Access recorded: September 18, 2026.

Not every stain is an original decoration

The surface study also changed the interpretation of some dark stains. Ekaterina Devlet explains that photography in different conditions and relief analysis indicated those marks had formed after the figure was buried. It is a good example of why one should not reconstruct its original colour by simply copying all current stains. The object preserves both signals of its manufacture and changes that occurred over thousands of years underground.

Research · Ekaterina G. Devlet — A New Reality of Rock Art (Science First Hand, 2016)Access recorded: September 18, 2026.

It was not the only way to create images

Amirkhanov and Lev's publication on the artistic finds from Zaraysk presents human and animal figures, engraved ivory plaques and bone objects with geometric decoration. The bison belongs to that set of ways of working and representing, not to an isolated activity known only through a single exceptional work. Comparing the supports allows one to ask how volume, line and surface were combined. Sharing a site does not mean, however, that all pieces were the work of a single person.

Research · Hizri Amirkhanov and Sergey Lev — New finds of art objects from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Zaraysk, Russia (Antiquity, 2008)Access recorded: September 18, 2026.

A piece within an inhabited place

Zaraysk lies by the Osiotr river, in the Oka basin. Researcher Amirkhanov's synthesis describes several sectors of the site and a wide variety of animal remains and objects, including ornaments made from teeth. That archaeological environment returns the sculpture to a place where distinct activities developed. The mammoth that provided the ivory and the bison represented fulfil different roles in the piece; the image cannot be automatically read as an inventory of what was eaten.

Research · H. A. Amirkhanov — Zaraysk, Great Russian Encyclopedia, vol. 10 (2008)Access recorded: September 18, 2026.

Reference images and provenance

Photograph of the original: Zaraysk Bison, Accession number unconfirmed. — **ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH · Vash Alex kun · CC BY-SA 4.0**
Original figure with damaged legs, incisions and major fractures preserved.
Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Vash Alex kun · Zaraysk Kremlin State Museum-Reserve · Inventory: Número de acceso no confirmado
Image provenance CC BY-SA 4.0

Location and territory

LOCATED SITE

Zaraysk A · RussiaApproximate marker for the Palaeolithic site.

Where it is held

Zaraysk Kremlin State Museum-Reserve

Item or group in the record · Permanent exhibition

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Open the institutional record and expand the object

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Zaraysk Bison

Explore in 3D

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

Zaraysk Bison

Lion-man

Hohle Fels

Brno II Articulated Figure

Lespugue

Zaraysk Bison

Gebel el-Arak knife

Naqada labels

Ivory tablets

Ivory in Nimrud

Ivory with names

Articulated doll from Tarragona

A closer look

The pit preserves more than the figure

A bison made from another animal's tusk

What a study replica teaches

The red was not only where first seen

Not every stain is an original decoration

It was not the only way to create images

A piece within an inhabited place

Reference images and provenance

Location and territory

Where it is held

Zaraysk Kremlin State Museum-Reserve

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?