Anthropomorphic figurine from the Ust-Voykar settlement

A unique find discovered in 2014 at the multilayered Ust-Voykar settlement (subpolar zone of Western Siberia) anthropomorphic figurine made from a limonite nodule is published for the first time. The Ust-Voykar settlement is one of rare settlement complexes in the region with the frozen cultural layer. The image was found in situ in the area of log dwelling No. 7 which was built in the late 1730s. The age of the dwelling was established using dendrochronological method. Petrographic analysis of the figurine determined mineral and chemical composition of a large ferruginous diagenetic concretion low-quality brown iron ore -from which the idol was made. The most likely source of such concretions are sedimentary deposits of the Khalapant formation/moraine, common in the area of Siberian Uvaly, in particular Belogorskiy Materik, the distance to which is at least 300 km from the place where the idol was discovered. Trace analysis of the idol has shown that the process of making this sculpture was typical for working with wood, and not with stone. Scholars have noticed traces of knife, but there were no traces of grinding which would have been natural for stone raw material. The appearance of a unique idol in the subpolar zone of Western Siberia could have resulted from migrations of local groups of the Ob Ugrians from the Kazym River basin to the Voykar River in the 18th century.