Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia @journal-aeae-en
Статьи журнала - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
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Remain s of tapestry from a Xiongnu (early 1st century ad) burial in mound 22 at Noin-Ula
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Remains of brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) from the Kaninskaya cave sanctuary in the Northern Urals
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Remnants of the snake cult among the Khakas (late 19th to mid 20th century)
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An especially noteworthy part of the Firsovo archaeological area is a group of early burials at the fl at-grave cemeteries Novoaltaisk-Razvilka, Firsovo XI, and Firsovo XIV. Nine radiocarbon dates have been generated for those cemeteries at various laboratories: two by the liquid-scintillation (LSC) method and seven using the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) method. The dates were calibrated using OxCal version 3.10 software. Dates for the Chalcolithic Bolshoy Mys culture burials at Novoaltaisk-Razvilka and Tuzovskiye Bugry-1 burial 7 match the previously suggested ones (around 3000 BC). Certain Neolithic burials in the Altai differ from others in the position of the bodies (fl exed on the side). They were dated to the late 5th to the early 4th millennia BC by the AMS method. Burials belonging to the “cultural core” of Firsovo XI, then, fall within the Early Neolithic (68 % interval, 5710–5460 BC; 95 % interval, 5740–5360 BC). The date 9106 ± 80 BP (GV-02889), obtained for Firsovo XI burial 18, may be somewhat accurate, pointing to the Final Mesolithic or Early Neolithic. Both the date and the cultural characteristics of this burial (sitting position, abundant ocher) are accompanied by the craniometric distinctness of the male cranium (huge total size).
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This article presents the results of a study of ceramics associated with the Valdivia and San Pedro complexes at the Real Alto site, southwestern Ecuador. The test sample, studied in 2022, includes fragments of vessels from two morphological and functional groups, relating to the first two phases of the Valdivia culture (bowls and pots) and those representing the San Pedro complex (vessels with necks and a bowl). A comparative analysis was based on identified technological indicators marking various stages of pottery manufacture. Certain differences are seen in the composition of paste and in the hand-shaping of the vessels. Significant differences were revealed in surface treatment and decoration. This is evidenced by the use of colored and plain coating, high-quality solid or matte striped polishing, and complexity of decoration. Distinctive features of firing include the use of different kilns and various atmospheric modes. Parallels include broadly similar firing temperatures. The technological difference between the two morphological and functional groups of the Valdivia complex is that bowls were manufactured with more complex and labor-consuming techniques, whereas pots are technologically somewhat similar to those from San Pedro. Radiocarbon dates (4640–4450 BP) suggest that the two traditions coexisted. Differences may reflect their cultural distinctness.
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Rock Art of the Ana Zaga Cave Shelter in the Archaeological Landscape of Gobustan, Azerbaijan
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The Agisoft and 3D Studio Max software was used to study the petroglyphs of the Ana Zaga rock shelter, the largest in Gobustan. Stylistic features typical of various periods are described, and radiocarbon estimates for various cultural layers are given. Chronological stages in the evolution of rock art are defined. On the basis of geological data concerning transgressions and regressions of the Caspian Sea, the date of the first human settlement of the Ana Zaga shelter is estimated. The species composition of extinct faunas represented in rock art is assessed. It is concluded that in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, following the rise of the sea level, the rock shelter became the principal habitat. In the Bronze Age, after the sea level had fallen, the middle and lower terraces became suitable for living. As new landscapes were settled, the themes of petroglyphs changed.
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Rocks in the religious beliefs and rites of the Ob Ugrians
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This study, based on materials collected in the 18th–20th centuries, and on the author’s field findings over the last 40 years, shows the role of rocks in the Ob Ugrian worldview and ritual practices. Evidence is provided on the veneration of various natural stone objects. Reasons for the cult of worshipping such places are discussed. One reason was that the rock resembled a human or animal figure. In legends and myths, the stone houses of heroic ancestors were correlated with numerous caves in the Ural Mountains. The main part of the article introduces materials relating to the stone figures of deities and patron spirits, supported by mythical narratives explaining the ways that a mythological hero was changed into stone. Examples are given of the figures of deities with a stone base found among local groups of the Ob Ugrians, such as the Lyapin and Sosva Mansi, Synya and Polui Khanty. The role of rocks in childbirth and funerary rites is examined, as well as their role in economic practices such as fishing. In Khanty and Mansi mythological beliefs, the modifier «stony» was equivalent to «iron» or «strong».
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Russian Orthodox churches “under the bells”: semantic features and origin of the worldview
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The religious foundations underlying the construction of Russian Orthodox churches “under the bells”, and the meaning and role of this notion, are analyzed with reference to the traditional worldview. Architectural features of such churches are described. They belong to a rare type, and have been constructed in Russia from the 14th century to the present time. Their multiple meanings, influenced by Byzantine and European traditions, related to the key Orthodox notions, are analyzed. The most basic of these was the idea of the ladder, symbolizing spiritual growth, as evidenced by dedication of churches “under the bells” to the Stylites, to preachers developing key Orthodox notions, and to converts engaged in spiritual maturation, as well as to miracles believed to influence human life in a profound way. Dedications to miracles and miraculous icons, associated with military glory, and to canonized warriors, patrons of the military, are based on the idea of the victorious and life-giving cross. The image of the bell as a divine messenger is embodied in the tradition of placing bells right above the liturgical space, making perception of the “voice of God” by the flock more direct. A conclusion is reached that the pillar-like edifices of churches “under the bells” represent the most meaningful elements of the Russian worldview, marking the Orthodox cultural landscape, whose central idea is that of spiritual maturation and triumphant Christian faith.
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Sanctuary with “Kalguty” style images in northwestern Mongolia (preliminary data)
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This article presents the first results of a detailed study of a key rock art site with the earliest petroglyphs in the Mongolian Altai—Baga-Oigur-5 (Right Bank). Basic data on its location, the surrounding environment, etc. are provided. The main groups of petroglyphs are characterized and attributed. The most numerous group, that of the "Kalguty" style, is examined in detail. This style was previously attributed by the current authors to the Final Upper Paleolithic. Bronze Age and medieval petroglyphs are also present at the site. The most informative panels show single horses, bulls, sheep, and deer rendered in the "Kalguty" style, as well as compositions including these animals. Among the earliest local rock art, for the first time, a nonfigurative sign has been found, resembling a grid, connected with the figure of a horse in a manner that is typical of prehistoric art. The analysis of a multilayered composition—one of the most important—confirms the hypothesis that "Kalguty" style petroglyphs predate the Bronze Age. The unusual natural context of Baga-Oigur-5 (Right Bank) is addressed in detail: a restricted area with available flat rock surfaces standing out against a background landscape with convex boulders. The arrangement of rock carvings within the site is unusual: animal figures on various surfaces combine in a nearly compositional manner. A tentative conclusion is made that the site was a sanctuary.
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We describe a group of Egyptian faience scarabs unearthed from the necropolis on the Iluraton Plateau, Eastern Crimea, by the expedition from the State Museum of the History of Religion (St. Petersburg) in 1987–1990. Artifacts made of so-called Egyptian faience were found in eight of the sixty-two burials—those of g irls aged below 1.5, dating to the 1st to early 2nd centuries AD. The most numerous among the faience items were beads in the form of scarabs. The analysis shows them to fall into three groups in terms of presence and nature of images on the reverse side: those without images (3 spec.), those with abstract images (3 spec.), and those with anthropo-zoomorphic images (2 spec.). In two cases, representations point to specifi c Egyptian workshops. Scarabs in girls’ burials of the Roman period elaborate on the thanatological imagery, which originated among the Scythian-Saka tribes of Eurasia in the mid-1st millennium BC.
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Seasonality of Sintashta funerary rites (based on the Kamennyi ambar-5 Bronze Age cemetery)
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Based on archaeological materials from the Kamennyi Ambar-5 cemetery, we test the hypothesis about the connection between the seasonality of pastoral practices and funerary rites during the Late Bronze Age (early 2nd millennium BC). We studied growth layers in the teeth of 24 cows, 19 sheep/goats, 14 horses, a dog, and ten humans from 17 graves. We combined samples from various species from the same contexts into eight assemblages. With regard to animals, differences in seasons of death were revealed only once. 70 % of graves were arranged in spring and 30 % in autumn. Therefore, the hypothesis about the seasonal use of the cemetery can be supported at least partially. The contemporaneous settlement of Kamennyi Ambar demonstrates a similar tendency in the seasonality of animal slaughtering. However, the reasons for slaughtering at the settlement differed from those in the cemetery. At the settlement site, it was motivated by practical needs, and in themortuary site, only by the seasonality of human deaths, specifically Ьy a higher frequency of deaths in late winter and spring. Also, postmortem selection is possiЬle, whereЬy kurgan burials were arranged only for some individuals. In practice, several of the above factors overlapped, resulting in an anomalous composition of the buried cohort (disproportion of sexes and a higher proportion of individuals who died at the peak of vital activity).
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Seventeenth century Siberia as a land of opportunity: social mobility among the Russian pioneers
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