Anthropomorphs of the Big Shigir Idol (historiographical aspect)

This historiographical essay describing studies of the anthropomorphic figures on the Big Shigir idol (Fig. 1: A) reflects the flow of thought and contribution of some researchers. Key finds and dating materials that offered an opportunity to understand semantics of specific figures on this sculpture are reviewed chronologically. It highlights importance of Eneolithic pottery featuring drawings of anthropomorphs from the Volvoncha I site (Western Siberia) and Paleolithic drawings at Ignatievskaya Cave (Southern Urals) that helped identify creatures of different sexes on the sculpture (Fig. 1: A, 4, 7; B, 1-4). Of special value are calibrated 14C dates for the idol timber. They confirm the early Holocene Age of the samples and lend credibility to comparison of figurative images dating to the Paleolithic and the Mesolithic. In this connection, particular narratives related to perspective representation, an X-ray style in art, etc. are updated (Fig. 2: A-B). The author takes stock of archaeologists' views regarding interpretation of both separate creatures on the Shigir idol and the entire composition. The final part of the essay emphasizes importance of the idol as an archaeological source for studying Stone Age art. This is in particular true with respect to understanding the processes of artwork as it transformed during transition from the Paleolithic to the Mesolithic as well as the issue of predominance of anthropomorphic images in the art of the early Holocene.