Rare artefacts having reminiscent of "Venus" figurines uncovered in Russia.

The new artefacts, discovered by Hizri Amirkhanov and Sergey Lev of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, include a mammoth rib inscribed with what appear to be three mammoths, a small
bone engraved with a cross-hatch pattern, and two human figurines presumed to be female.
The site at Zaraysk, 150km south-east of Moscow, has yielded figurines and carvings on
mammoth tusks.
As the Upper Palaeolithic is the latter part of the Stone Age, during which humans made the
transition from functional tool-making to art and adornment.
Artistic artefacts have been found in the nearby regions of Kostenki and Avdeevo, but this
is the first such discovery at Zaraysk.
Such "Venus" statuettes have been found in locations ranging from the mountains of Spain
as far east as Siberia, but their cultural significance remains a point of debate among
anthropologists.