Valley of the Small Salgir River. This is where one of the most ancient monuments of the Paleolithic era is located. At the beginning of the 20th century, on the outskirts of Simferopol, a grotto cave was discovered with the remains of the first people, tools and cave paintings. It has preserved images of half-meter mammoths and fish, drawings of the sun with rays on the ceiling and walls. Sixty thousand years ago, ancient men and women led their primitive economy here.
Once, Small Salgir was quite full of water and attracted animals such as mammoths, rhinos, panthers, bison, cave lions, various species of birds. And the found remains of huge sizes of bears testify to the fact that at that time they were the most dangerous predators. Scientists were able to find the remains of all animals and plants growing in this area in the Chokurcha cave long before it could turn into another desolation and again meet its new dawn.
Crimea: the first inhabitants and settlements
Existing research results give us every right to assert that the ancient Crimea was inhabited as early as eight hundred thousand years ago. This means that the prevailing opinion of the first settlers in the form of Taurus and Cimmerians is erroneous. The finds of the sites of the first people in the Crimea near Echka Daka determine the stay in the Crimean lands of the earliest man - the Pithecanthropus.
True, the question of the formation of the peninsula remains open to this day. Americans in the mid-nineties of the XX century made a discovery: only after 5600 BC the Crimea turned into a peninsula, thanks to the global flood. Then the Mediterranean Sea covered over one hundred and fifty thousand square kilometers. Accordingly, Crimea was part of the land, which attracted all kinds of life with its lush forests and meadows.
What did the Crimean Neanderthals look like?
It is known that three hundred thousand years ago Neanderthals lived in the foothills of the Crimea, while Pithecanthropus settled mainly in the southern part of the peninsula. Rock caves in Crimea are filled with artifacts and remains of that period. Neanderthals were short enough in height, they had short lower limbs, and while walking they spread their legs to the sides. The beginning of the appearance of speech in the first people is characterized by a not protruding massive and wide jaw. However, the superciliary arches still hung over his face.
During the Middle Paleolithic, people settled in groups of fifty to one hundred people. Such communities subsequently led not only to group hunting trips (for example, round-up hunting), but also to the rite of burial of the dead. True, the characteristic of such settlements still looked like a primitive herd.
Description of the ancient Chokurcha cave
Chokurcha is an unusual cave-grotto. This means that the entrance to it is very wide, with an ongoing hall, which was preceded by a narrow hole. The difference between the grotto and the cave is that the second is just a cavity in the upper part of the earth’s crust that has an exit (one or several) to the surface.
The Chokurcha Grotto goes five meters in depth, the width of the inside of the cave is seven meters, but further studies have revealed that it previously had a length of fifteen meters. A very unusual fact - the entrance to the grotto is located from the north. The art petroglyphs found on the inner rock walls tell us about the creative expression of ancient people. Outside the cliff, exactly next to the main cave-grotto, there are smaller caves, the ceiling height of which is a little more than a meter.
Exploration of the Chokurch Grotto
The parking of primitive people in the Crimea dates back to the Paleolithic era and, as historians prove, is the oldest housing in all of Europe. A unique grotto was discovered by the famous archaeologist S. Zabnin in the early 20s of the XX century. But research on the Chokurcha cave as a site of primitive man began only in 1927.
Inside, scientists found the remains of ancient people, household items, as well as the remains of animals that are considered extinct. The finds have become an invaluable treasure, which is included in the detailed records of the excavations of one of Ernst's scientists. These records include a description of silicon tools, the finish of which was quite perfect for that time. But the most interesting discovery is cave paintings in diameter of 50 centimeters and black marks on the arch of the grotto, which indicate that ancient people made fires and cooked food on them.
The finding of the mammoth bone of the scapular part was amazing, on it astronomers found a carved map of the starry sky, its northern hemisphere. The map repeated the arrangement of the stars of that time. During the Second World War and the German occupation of the territory of Crimea, excavation documents and the largest exhibits disappeared. However, later in the cave, new artifacts were found. They became images of the ancient people themselves. These images had the characteristic features of a Neanderthal face, and nearby were found drawings of mythical animals.
These days
After the war ended, the cave fell into complete disrepair and only in 2009 restoration work began. Groups of scientists continued to dig further inland. New discoveries were not long in coming: a huge number of tools made of limestone and silicon were discovered, and another burial was discovered, the remains of bones.
Now Chokurcha cave is an
archaeological site, as its centuries-old history fully confirms the world-famous theory of the origin of man on Earth.
But modern realities did not give her a normal historical life. At the moment, around the cave is completely devastated, including broken bottles and mountains of garbage. The grotto turned into a place for local vandals, cave paintings are spoiled by different inscriptions and covered with a lot of soot. The oldest camp of primitive people in the Crimea, the home of our ancestors turned into a landfill. But in 1947 the cave was declared a natural monument and its artifacts became scientific classics.
Where are the archaeological artifacts
The Crimean Republican Museum of Local Lore has sheltered most of the finds, turning them into very exotic exhibits. But it is the caves in Crimea that are the main open-air museum.
In the historical and archaeological museum of Bakhchisaray there are objects of flint products, molded utensils. Also, the artifacts of the ancient Crimea were conveniently located in Yevpatoria ( Museum of Local Lore), Kerch (historical and archaeological museum), Yalta, Feodosia and many other cities of the Crimean peninsula. Chokurkinskaya cave is a real journey during the life of our ancestors. True, where all the material disappeared during the German attack is still not known.
Coordinates of the cave and how to get
There is a shuttle bus number 88 from Simferopol, you need to go to the Lugovaya stop. From the stop you have to walk along the river for about 10-15 minutes.
GPS Coordinates: 44 ° 57'34 "N, 34 ° 8'7" E (latitude / longitude).
Where to stay, hotels around
About one kilometer from the Chokurcha cave there are a number of good hotels, with a good rating on the Booking website. Hotels "Yalos", "Oscar", "Vienna", "Imperial", "Venice", hotel "Star", several hostels and apartments with pricing per night from 20-30 dollars. The hotels have free Wi-Fi, parking, meals are specified depending on the hotel and price. Around there are a lot of places for tourist accommodation with all modern amenities.