Ancient Stone Age art found in Russia

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MOSCOW, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Russian archaeologists say they've uncovered a group of Stone Age art objects that appear to have been part of an ancient hunting ritual.

The items, which were buried in pits and covered with mammoth bones, are 21,000 to 22,000 years old, CNN reported Friday.

Hizri Amirkhanov and Sergey Lev of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences said the art objects, carved on mammoth ivory plaques, include representations of women and large mammals.

The items were uncovered in 2005 at a site called Zaraysk, about 100 miles southeast of Moscow. Zaraysk is the northernmost known location for a style of Stone Age artwork called Kostenski-Avdeevo, CNN said. Researchers have been excavating the site since 1995.

The findings are published in the December issue of the magazine Antiquities.