Avdeevka Paleolithic site, Paleolithic cultural heritage site in Oktyabrsky District, Russia

The Avdeevka site lies on a high watershed above the Rogozna, a left tributary of the Upper Seim, near the village of Avdeyevo in Kursk Oblast. Excavations uncovered two oval dwelling complexes, each ringed by semi-dugouts around a central hearth, with pits and hollows filled with cultural remains. The finds include tens of thousands of flint and bone items, among them female figurines carved from mammoth ivory.

Local historian V. I. Samsonov identified the site on 18 June 1941, days before the German invasion, when mammoth bones, flint flakes and finished tools were dug out. Full research followed the war: from 1946 to 1948 the Desna expedition led by M. V. Voevodsky uncovered an oval settlement of 800 m² with semi-dug dwellings at its edge. Radiocarbon dates place the occupation at roughly 22,700 to 22,200 years ago.

Among the finds are female figurines carved from mammoth ivory, called Palaeolithic Venus figures, with clearly discernible facial features, as well as ivory head diadems. Ornaments include wolf and arctic fox teeth pierced for stringing, and needles made from bird bone. Some bone objects carry incised ornament.

The location preserves a diverse collection of stone and bone tools that show how people worked and lived here. The remains allow visitors to understand the daily activities and craft techniques of this early settlement.

Among the finds are needles made from bird bone and pierced wolf and arctic fox teeth, alongside mammoth-ivory diadems. The site also yielded figurines of a mammoth and a horse carved from mammoth ivory, bone and sandstone. In July 2006 two local teenagers vandalised the excavation area and received short prison sentences for vandalism.