The thesis for obtaining degree of the candidate of historic sciences, speciality 07.00.05 - Ethnology. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 2006. The thesis is devoted to the question of ethnocultural reconstructions of early primitive communities of Ukraine. Ethnocultural reconstructions are carried out on the archaeological sources. A new direction in understanding of archaeological culture as a complex notion, which is a component of economic-cultural type and historic-ethnographic community is proposed. The work characterises ethnic lines of human communities on Plain territory of Ukraine within the limits of 40-10 BC. There is established that in the way of life of Upper Paleolithic mammoth, reindeer and bison hunters one can observe the ethnic peculiarities. Such peculiarities are reflected in the structure of settelments, house interiors, hunting methods and skills, methods of processing the stone, certain types of flint and bone wares, works of art, cut of the clothes and foot-wear, systems of nutrition. The reconstruction models of the early etnoth communities of mammoth, reindeer and bison hunters are proposed. According to physical and geographical division into the districts, there are two zones in the Ukrainian Upper Palaeolithic: Northern (pre-ice) and Southern. The climatic conditions, landscape and fauna of the two zones differ significantly. Consequently, the economic specialisation differed too. In the Northern zone people hunted the mammoth, raindeer and other forest-tundra animals; in the Southern zone they hunted the bison, horses, saiga and other steppe animals. Within these zones there exist large ethnocultural regions - the Middle Dnieper Region (Seredniodniprovska) and Subcarpathian-Volynian Region. The formation of historic-ethnographic communities depend, in the greater measure, on character of interaction of cultures, which entered into it, and also ethnoginatical consolidation of population. Proceeding from archaeological sources, on a basis of multidisciplinary approach it is possible to carry out reconstruction old protoethnoses on the territory of Ukraine. Economic-cultural and historic-ethnographic roots of representatives of certain archaeological cultures are reflected in the categories of material culture of the Upper Palaeolithic artefacts (homes and dwellings, instruments and tools, works of art, etc.). The Upper Palaeolithic dwellings of mammoth hunters were situated in valleys of the rivers with large water-meadows (Mizyn, Mezhyrich, Gintsi, Kyrylivska). The artefacts of the Southern zone, bison hunters dwellings, prove that the primitive inhabitants of this region settled down in the places with clearly shaped outlines of the relief, which considerably eased baying the animals (Anetivka II, Amvrosiivka, Velyka Akkarja, etc.). The hunters on reindeer of west of Ukraine preferred to settle nearby of water sources, that was connected to features of a hunt on this kind. Mammoth hunters built warm houses. Numerous houses of such type were found on the sites of dwellings in the middle part of the Dnieper river - Mizyn, Mezhyrich, Dobranichivka, etc. To built houses, they used mammoth bones and horns of reindeer. Those houses looked rather like northern yarangas. The remains of light framework houses were discovered at the sites of dwellings in the Southern part of Ukraine. Apparently, these types of houses were covered by the bison skins. A complex planigraphic structure was traced in Amvrosiivka, Anetivka II and Velyka Akkarja dwellings. Bison hunters used spears with bone (Amvrosiivka) or horn (Anetivka II) points. In the dwellings of the Middle Dnieper region there were found bone points of spears, used by mammoth hunters. A great number of pestle grind-stones found in the Dniester region testify to the importance of gathering there. The specific feature of the Upper Palaeolithic technique in the West of Ukraine is the use soft types of stone, processed by cutting, polishing and boring. The traces of flint microtools in the dwellings of the steppe region revealed thespecific features of economic specialisation. Economic specialisation of primitive communities in some way influenced clothes and foot-wear production. According to ethnographic data, the Eskimos wear two layers of fur clothings without fastening with a hood. The inhabitants of sub-ice zone used the same type of clothes, which can be seen in the representation of similar clothes in a series of Palaeolithic statuettes made of mammoth tusk. Clothe fasteners made of mammoth tusk were found on the territory of Mizyn dwelling. They consisted of small rounded sticks with spherical buildings and linking elements between them. Bison hunters did not need such warm clothes. The rituals of northern regions are connected with the cult of woman, while in the southern zone there was the cult of animal (bison). One of the characteristic features of primitive ethnic communities, in comparison with ethnoses of later periods, is its less discrete character, its heterogeneity, instability, established self-awareness, connectedwith blood-related, economic and spiritual relations. We could assume that these characteristics were typical of primitive ethnoses of the Upper Palaeolithic period. The correlation between economic-cultural types and historic-ethnographic communities in the context of ethnocultural reconstructions is proposed to view. The features of material and spiritual culture of primitive communities of Ukraine carry in themselves both economic, and ethnic features, that allows to consider these collectives as the first forms of ethnic formations. Key words: culture, ethnology, ethnoarchaeology, archaeological source, reconstruction, economic-cultural type, historic-ethnographic community.
