The Lower Palaeolithic of Ukraine: Current evidence

For almost three decades, the only evidence of stratified and well-documented Lower Palaeolithic in Ukraine was reported for Korolevo, situated west of the Carpathian arch. This locality remains the most important in the country and provides four Lower Palaeolithic assemblages, of which two were recognised below the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary. Several new stratified localities were discovered recently: among these are Malyj Rakovets IV, situated in the Central European part of Ukraine, and Medzhybozh and Maslovo located in the western edge of the East European plain. All these localities are dated to the Middle Pleistocene, but only Medzhybozh has yielded rich and various biostratigraphic data. Some Ukrainian surface localities also provide assemblages of likely Lower Palaeolithic age; among these are Neporotovo IV in the Dniester area and Gaspra and Cape Mayachny in Crimea. Regardless of limited primary evidence, Lower Palaeolithic localities of Ukraine exhibit certain regularities, in particular concerning their spatial pattern.