Around 30,000 years ago, during the last ice age, tribes of people arrived on teh freezing plains of eastern Europe. These people quickly adapted to living in such cold and empty places. They became experts at hunting the mammoths that wandered across the plains, and they made almost everything they needed from the mammoth's bodies.
Hunting mammoths Like other people at this time, the mammoth-hunters used a weapon called a spearthrower, which allowed them to throw their spears much farther than before. This made it possible to attack dangerous animals, such as the mammoths, from a safe distance.
Mammoth-bone hutsThere were few hills or caves on the plains, so the mammoth-hunters had nowhere to shelter from the snow and wind. Because hardly any trees grew there either, people had no wood to build huts. Instead, teh mammoth-hunters made their homes from mammoth bones and skins.
Music and dancingThe mammoth-hunters made some of the first musical instruments that we know about. They used mammoth skulls and shoulder bones as drums, and hollowed out small bones to make flutes.
People probably danced to the music. Dancing may have been a way of bringing everyone in the tribe closer together. It may also have been part of a religious ceremony.
Warm clothes In the winter, the mammoth-hunters wore warm leather clothes made from mammoth skins sewn tightly together. They also wore leather boots and fur mittens.
Shells and beads Sometimes, people made strings of beads from shells and animal teeth, and used ivory from mammoth tusks to make bracelets. Burials have been found where the person's clothes have hundreds of beads sewn on in patterns, perhaps indicating their status. Tribe leaders may have had their own special decorations.
