Ancient Inventions of Ukraine

by
Andrew Gregorovich

The oldest house in the world is this 15,000 year old one made of mammoth bones found at Mezhirich near Kiev in Ukraine. It was probably covered with mammoth hides. It is planned to include this house in the Treasures of Ukraine Exhibit scheduled for the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto in 1996.

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The Ancient World created many of the inventions which have contributed to the progress of civilization. Among these are a number which originated in Ukraine. Some of these are noted in a new book Ancient Inventions, by Peter James and Nick Thorpe (New York: Ballantine Books, 1994). In this book review we would like to focus on these inventions which originated in Ukraine according to James and Torpe and include some additional items they missed.

The first horseman rode a horse in Ukraine about 6,000 years ago. James and Thorpe explain it this way: "...the earliest hard evidence for the domestication of the horse dates back only to 4000 B.C. -- teeth of horses from the Copper age site of Dereivka, in southern Ukraine, examined under the microscope show traces of wear caused by having bits in their mouths. These were probably made of rope, as the earliest known metal horse bits date from about 1500 B.C." (p.51).

Pants or trousers, were probably invented about 6,000 years ago by the horsemen on the Steppes of Ukraine. Pants were the typical dress of the Scythian warriors of ancient Scythia-Ukraine 2,600 years ago. Pants are particularly suited to a northern climate and to horsemen which places the logical origin on the steppes or prairies of Eastern Europe, or Ukraine. They are depicted on ancient gold jewelry and vases found in Ukrainian burial mounds (kurgans). Some ancient Greeks, such as Hippocrates, thought poorly of the pants worn by the Ukrainian Scythians. James and Thorpe mention pants were popular among many nations but do not suggest the possible location of the origin of them.

The oldest map in the world, discovered in Ukraine in 1966, is from about 10,000 B.C. Inscribed on a mammoth tusk it was found in Mezhirich, Ukraine. It has been interpreted to show a river with dwellings along a river (p. 57). However, the best claim to the title of "the earliest map in the world" appears on a beautifully engraved silver vase from Maikop in Ukraine, according to James and Thorpe. It was found in a Ukrainian tomb dated at 5,000 years old. It shows two rivers, a mountain range, a lake or sea and wild animals (p. 56-57).

The oldest known map in the world, discovered by archeologists, is from 12,000 B.C. and was found in Mezhirich, Ukraine.