Archeologists discover unique Neolithic jewelry on Taimyr Peninsula
© RIA Novosti. Alexandr Kryazhev

Archeologists discover unique Neolithic jewelry on Taimyr Peninsula

Archeologists have discovered Neolithic stone labret piercing jewelry on the Taimyr Peninsula, Danil Lysenko, spokesman for Krasnoyarsk Geo-Archeology Ltd., told TASS news agency.

"Our archeologists were looking for ancient Russian winter dwellings and shelters on the Taimyr Peninsula, and they found two polished-shale labret piercing pieces for cheeks and lips. It is difficult to date these artefacts of Neolithic stone," Lysenko said.

Scientists also found several dozen stone arrowheads and knife blades.

"Taimyr remains largely unexplored for archeologists; this area has not been studied for decades since famous Soviet archeologist Leonid Khlobystin was here. We are continuing to study Russian culture in the high latitudes; this includes excavation in the town of Yeniseisk," Lysenko noted.

In 2016, archeologists began an excavation project on the Taimyr Peninsula and combed territories between Dudinka and the Yenisei River, along the Novaya River and near Lake Lama. Next year, there are plans to work on the banks of the Pyasina River. And a five-year program to study Arctic areas in the Krasnoyarsk Territory is being created.

According to TASS, the ancestors of West Eskimos, Aleuts and North American Indians (Native Americans) widely used labret piercing ornamentation. Archeologists have found several labret piercing jewelries on the Kamchatka Peninsula. This jewelry is part of the Neolithic Taryinskaya labret culture dating to the late first millennium BC. Similar jewelry was also discovered on the Taimyr Peninsula during Khlobystin's polar expedition in the 1960s and 70s.