Description : Mezine is a place within the modern country of Ukraine which has the most artifact finds of Paleolithic culture origin. The Epigravettian site is located on a bank of the Desna River in the Korop Raion or Chernihiv Oblast, northern Ukraine, near the village of Mezine. The settlement is best known for an archaeological find of a set of bracelets engraved with marks possibly representing calendar lunar-cycles. Also found near Mezine was the earliest known example of a swastika-like form, as part of a decorative object dated to 18,000 BCE. It was described (see references for illustrations) as an object carved from ivory mammoth tusks to resemble an: Ice age Bird ... with Inscribed Swastikas... The bird is understood as an inherently shamanistic animal, often being a symbol of the soul or of the spirit experienced in flight (from death).
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