Clay anthropomorphic representation from Pashkin Bor (Western Siberia)

In the field season of 2018, the Kondinsky Unit of IAE SB RAS conducted an archaeological survey in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug as a part of agreement on scholarly collaboration with the OOO “NUTs AVKOM-Nasledie”. A well-preserved object of clay plastic art was found in Kondinsky District. This article discusses the Medieval clay plastic art of the taiga zone of Western Siberia, describes the area where the object was discovered, and analyzes the morphological and stylistic features of the clay figurine. The anthropomorphic figurine from the territory of the Pashkin Bor locality is a well-burned object of brown color. The frontal side of the object was decorated with thin sharp implement. The antebrachial and axial part of the figurine are decorated with wavy lines, and the space from the limbs to the head is covered by spiral s-shaped ornamentation. The head is represented as a mask with eyes and mouth. The back side is undecorated and smooth; it shows traces of nail imprints. Similar objects found in fragmented state are typical of the sites of the 10th-13th centuries AD associated with the Kintus stage of the Ob-Irtysh historical and cultural community. Clay plastic art in Western Siberia has deep historical roots. It may be assumed that anthropomorphic objects of clay plastic art were associated with ritual practices related to the creation of a family, giving birth to children, and becoming a grown-up person. The intact figurine found in the Pashkin Bor locality (Kondinsky District) makes it possible to significantly expand the knowledge on the shape, stylistic features, and semantics of objects of clay plastic arts in the taiga zone of Western Siberia in the Middle Ages.