An international team of scientists working at a mammoth hunting site called Breitenbach near Zeitz in Saxony-Anhalt has discovered what they believe is an organized workshop that produced ivory objects around 35,000 years ago. The site is open and massive, estimated at anywhere from about 6,000 square meters to as much as 20,000 meters. It was undoubtedly occupied by modern humans during the Aurignacian period (40,000-34,000 years ago).
The site has evidence of distinct working areas. In one, for example, pieces of ivory were split. There is a second area where pieces had been carved and waste discarded. The team found ivory beads and unfinished rough-outs in the debris. Other objects, including a decorated rod and fragments of what may have been a three-dimensional sculpture were also discovered.
The ivory these early "factory" workers used may have been from the remains of mammoths which had been hunted nearby, or might have died naturally. Close to 3,000 finds have been made in 2012 alone, even though the first archaeological excavations at the massive site were carried out in the 1920s.
Scientists investigating the site, believed to be one of the largest of its time, are excited about the possibility of gaining insights into the culture and organization of the people who lived and worked there during the Upper Paleolithic, and hope to find other examples of art, personal adornment, and perhaps even music. Naturally, they hope to find burials, which often shed much light on the social life and culture of the people who lived there
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There is a great deal of work still to be done at Breitenbach, and with a little luck, perhaps the researchers there will be able to add precious details to what we know about the Aurignacian people and their lifestyles.
There’s more information on the Breitenbach site here
If you're interested, I posted about the world's oldest ivory sculpture here
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