Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia @journal-aeae-en
Статьи журнала - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
Все статьи: 553
Geomorphology and quaternary sediments at archaeological sites near Anzhevka, Krasnoyarsk territory
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Geophysical studies at the Kushmanskoye (Uchkakar) fortified settlement, Kama basin
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This article describes the findings of excavations of an Early Saka kurgan at Kyrykoba, Eastern Kazakhstan. The kurgan had been looted; human remains, according to physical anthropologists, belonged to a mature woman. Her cranium exhibited trepanation. Some 200 artifacts were found, mostly gold and stone ornaments (belt clips, gold seed beads, and simple beads). The most interesting find is a bimetallic pin made of iron. Its rod is missing; the tiny head, less the 1 cm in diameter, is covered with gold foil. On its surface, there is a figure of an ungulate with a curved antler, its body twisted 180°. This stylistic device in the depiction of ungulates and predators is typical of the Scythian-Siberian art of Kazakhstan and Western Siberia in 700–300 BC. Other rare finds include ornaments made from a cretaceous layer of oyster shells, such as pendants shaped as oval plates imitating tusks, or figurines of predatory animals— 20 pieces, ranging in size from 0.4 × 0.4 to 2.5 × 2.5 cm. Oyster shells with thick cretaceous layers had been procured from the coasts of the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. The beads and the animal figurine made from cretaceous layers of oyster shells are paralleled by those from an Early Scythian era burial at Gilevo-10, Altai. These artifacts indicate regional and intracontinental trade and cultural ties in Eastern Kazakhstan and Western Siberia, evidenced by similar technological traditions, images, compositions, and decorative motifs.
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This study examines traditional ideas of women and marriage, based on the instructions attributed to one of the rulers of the epoch of the “Religious Kings”—Usun-Debeskertu-Khan, and his ministers. The focus is made on female virtues, the most important of which is adherence to duties in relation to the husband and children. The standards that noble women had to comply with were higher than those concerning other women, but still quite realistic, as attested to by historical records. Negative female traits were said to be caused by untamed emotions, which cause one to forget about commonly accepted norms of behavior. The analysis of the instructions relating to marriage suggests that they were especially influenced by Buddhism, which, using various forms of instruction, including didactic writings, endowed marriage with a new, spiritual content. There were three forms of marriage, tentatively described as “divine”, “earthly”, and “infernal”. The causes of happy and unhappy marital unions were believed to be mainly related to women’s properties mentioned in the instructions. Marital harmony was said to depend mostly on the woman.
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Hominin-Carnivoran adaptive strategies in Western Europe during the early Pleistocene
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Human Remains from a Neolithic Burial at Krokhalevka-5 on the Upper Ob: Physical Type and Origin
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We describe the skeletal remains of a male, aged 25–30, from the Neolithic burial 33 at Krokhalevka-5 in the Upper Ob basin, 21 km northwest of Novosibirsk, dating to the mid-5th millennium BC. Craniometric, dental metric, and nonmetric traits are analyzed. Cranial measurements are evaluated in the context of their variation in 58 individuals representing 11 local populations of the Paleolithic and Neolithic of Northern Eurasia. Data were processed using the principal component analysis in the STATISTICA 10 software. The first PC differentiates crania in terms of general size. The structure of loadings on PC2 indicates the presence of western and eastern trait combinations. The position of individuals on PC1 and PC2 reveals heterogeneity apparently caused by the conservatism of the underlying substratal populations. The Krokhalevka-5 individual is closest to those from Firsovo XI (Barnaul stretch of the Ob) and Zarechnoye-1 (Salair region). They are rather similar to the Volosovo individual from Sakhtysh-2A in Central Russia and a Kitoy individual from Fofanovo in the Trans-Baikal area. These findings point to a complex origin of the Upper Ob population on the basis of one of the evolutionarily conservative Mesolithic or Neolithic substratal components, possibly admixed with more consolidated eastern and western ones introduced by migration. Neolithic crania from Baraba contrast with those from the Upper Ob, suggesting that different substrates were involved in the population history of those regions.
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Hunting equipment of Russians living near Tara on the Irtysh in the 17th and 18th centuries
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This article describes Russian hunting tools unearthed from several sites near the town of Tara on the Irtysh: Ananyino I, Izyuk I, Tara, and Fort Bergamak. The functions of tools are assessed on the basis of archaeological parallels from the Baraba forest-steppe, ethnographic examples relating to the culture of the Irtysh natives, materials from Fort Albazin and Fort Sayansk, and much earlier burials dating to the Xianbei-Rouran time in the Altai Mountains. The variety of 17th–18th century hunting tools is best represented at Mangazeya, Fort Alazeya, and Fort Stadukhin. Apart from typological comparisons, technological analysis was carried out for several wooden and metal artifacts. Results are helpful for revealing continuities between the 17th–18th century Russian hunting tradition at Tara and that practiced in Old Rus and in the 15th–17th century Russian state, as well as for comparing it with the Siberian native traditions.
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This study focuses on the composition of the adhesives used to repair clay vessels, and on the technique of their preparation in the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic (late 4th to early 3rd millennia BC) sites of Far Northeast Europe (the Republic of Komi and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug). Remains of adhesives were detected on 70 of 171 repaired pots. To date, five samples of ceramics from dwellings of the Chuzhyael culture have been analyzed. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed no markers of coniferous trees or bitumen; but did reveal markers of birch, suggesting that fractures and cracks on broken pots were plastered with birch tar. The composition of organic compounds in samples indicates the use of two vessels in the technological process: in one of them, birch bark was subjected to pyrolysis, while the other was a receptacle for tar. This comparatively complex technology reveals one more specialization in the domestic manufacture of the taiga hunter-gatherers, including the use of special furnaces. Analytic procedures employed by us open up new prospects for the study of the material culture of Far Northeast Europe, extend our knowledge of domestic manufacture, and offer new material for AMS dating.
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Iem cave: a stratified Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene site in Northern Vietnam
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This study presents the fi ndings of excavations at Ɖiem Cave, a Late Paleolithic site in Vietnam. Several lithological units and cultural layers are identifi ed. Archaeological materials, including stone and bone artifacts, are described in detail. Findings from the three lower layers include sumatraliths, axes, bone tools, and ornaments. All of these, as well as features of the funerary rite, are typical of the Hoabinhian period. Human bones in the earliest burial were found in anatomical order, whereas those in other burials were crushed and charred. The authors demonstrate that the three lower layers date to the Pleistocene and belong to the Hoabinhian stage, whereas the upper layer dates to the Holocene and belongs to the Đa Bút culture. Micromorphological and stratigraphic observations suggest that the sedimentation of two of the Hoabinhian layers occurred under a humid climate, whereas one Hoabinhian layer attests to a more arid environment. Judging by the absolute dates, the Hoabinhian period appeared in Northern Vietnam before 23 ka BP. During certain stages of the Pleistocene, human populations in the region were rather numerous.
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This paper presents the results of a comprehensive analysis of lithics from layer 3 of Okladnikov Cave and their relevance to the Sibiryachikha industries of the Altai Mountains. Attribute analysis has shown that the industry of layer 3 demonstrates technological and typological similarities with the Sibiryachikha industries. These include radial flaking with an offset technological axis, a predominance of convergent side-scrapers, and a series of planoconvex bifacial tools. Functionally, the site was a camp where horse and rhinoceros carcasses were butchered and consumed. The analysis of flaking sequence integrity revealed similarity between Okladnikov layer 3 and Chagyrskaya industries in terms of primary and bifacial reduction. The initial stages of core decortication were carried out outside the cave, at the rock outcrops. Subsequent stages of core utilization and all stages of bifacial flaking were carried out in situ. The main difference between Okladnikov layer 3 and Chagyrskaya layer 6c/2 industries concerns only the stage of manufacturing and modifying stone tools. At Okladnikov Cave, these processes were much more intense than at Chagyrskaya, which may indicate transportation of numerous tools and blanks made of high-quality raw material from more distant sources.
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Insight into ceramic technologies at the Maikop site of Ust-Dzheguta, Karachay-Cherkessia
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