Статьи журнала - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
Все статьи: 445
Статья
Бесплатно
Upper Paleolithic of the Yenisey: new discoveries, old debates
Статья научная
This paper integrates the results of studies relating to the Upper Paleolithic of the Yenisey, collating traditional ideas with fi ndings made in the latest decades. Excavations on the Upper and Middle Yenisey are being carried out by several research teams. Sites representing the hitherto little known Early Upper Paleolithic (Yasnoye I, Afontova Gora II-Sklon) have been discovered, but so far the fi ndings do not suffi ce for their cultural attribution. The key site for that period in the region remains Malaya Syia, for which a series of new dates ranging between 34–29 ka has been generated. Traditions revealed there continued at a later site, Sabanikha. The Middle Upper Paleolithic is characterized by the prevalence of various blade industries, which in most cases cannot be separated into clear-cut groups resembling archaeological cultures. Certain industries are archaic, with Mousterian-like lithic assemblages and elaborate bone and tusk processing (Kurtak IV). During the later phase of the Pleistocene, along with cultures such as the Afontova and Kokorevo, blade industries survived, continuing traditions of the preceding stage (Golubaya I, Maltat, Konzhul). A peculiar variant of the Upper Paleolithic has been identifi ed, combining features of both cultures and a series of foliated bifaces (Kuibyshevo II). Discussions are ongoing around the effect of various factors on the cultural differentiation, including the relationship between the Afontova and Kokorevo cultures.
Бесплатно
Urbanization of indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Far East (20th to early 21st centuries)
Статья
Бесплатно
Статья
This article explores the specifi city of the urbanization process in the native population of the Altai Republic and assesses its principal trends over the course of the years 1926–2020. The focus is on quantitative aspects such as the growth of urban settlements and their population. I look at the ways the urban network has developed in the Altai Mountains. The only urban administrative center shows a potential for agglomerative growth and continues to accumulate the rural population. Townships that had emerged during the Soviet period were unattractive for natives. Three stages in the urbanization process are described: 1926–1950s, 1960–1980s, and 1990 to the present. Over the entire period in question, urbanization was extensive, i.e. caused by migration from rural areas. At the fi rst stage, the key factor was political (collectivization). In the second stage, the factors were socio-cultural (attractiveness of urban lifestyle), economic (higher income and greater availability of jobs), and political (the abolition of “futureless” villages). The main factor at the third stage was socio-economic crisis. A conclusion is made that the potential for extensive urbanization in the native population of the Altai Republic has not yet been exhausted. The most attractive places to migrate are still the region’s capital and its suburbs. However, migration to other cities of Russia is likely to rise. A prediction is made that the role of intensive factors of urbanization in the indigenous population of the Altai Republic will increase.
Бесплатно
Статья научная
In the 13th and 14th centuries, there was a custom of placing parts of a ram/sheep carcass in the grave as an offering in the Baikal region. Materials from three areas, which were then parts of the Mongol Empire, are described: southeastern Trans-Baikal, northern Khövsgöl, and southern Angara. Graves are described with a focus on sheep bones, their composition, and location in the grave. In the southern Trans-Baikal, the shank was usually placed near the buried person’s head. Scapulae and vertebrae are much less frequent than shank bones. The latter are most often found under the human pelvic bones or under the upper femur. In the Khövsgöl area, a ram’s shank was placed near the deceased person’s arm or leg. On the Angara, a ram’s head—or the entire dorsal part—was placed near the deceased’s legs. In the Sayantui type burials, located south of Lake Baikal and representing the Mongols’ funerary tradition of the imperial period, the most common offering was a ram’s shank, placed upright. Elsewhere in the Baikal region, other ways of arranging parts of a ram carcass are observed, apparently because of the absence of the Mongol population and its elite in those areas.
Бесплатно
Ust-Tsilma female headdress: description and use (mid 19th to early 21st century)
Статья обзорная
Бесплатно
Статья научная
Primary reduction techniques used at the site of Kara-Bom in the Altai Mountains, are analyzed using the refi tting method. In previous studies, the Kara-Bom assemblages provided the basis for reconstructing the evolution of lithic industries in the Altai Mountains over most of the Middle Paleolithic and at the early stages of the Upper Paleolithic (ca 60–30 ka BP). Under the new stratigraphic subdivision of Kara-Bom, four habitation stages are described. The refi tting of artifacts from the Middle Paleolithic (MP2) layer indicates Levallois unidirectional convergent fl aking aimed at producing points and blades as a co-product of reduction sequences. Based on cores and groups of spalls from the Upper Paleolithic layers UP2 and UP1, the variation of Upper Paleolithic reduction techniques is reconstructed and a conclusion is made that signifi cant changes in core reduction occurred: the Middle Paleolithic (Levallois) fl at unidirectional technique gave way to bidirectional volumetric subprismatic and prismatic reduction of the Upper Paleolithic type. The Kara-Bom assemblages appear to have been stable variants of blade technology aimed at producing large and medium-sized blades as well as reduction of narrow-faced cores aimed at producing bladelets. The comparison of Kara-Bom with contemporaneous industries of northern and eastern Central Asia suggests that the earliest Upper Paleolithic assemblages (before 35 ka BP) show a marked predominance of the Kara-Bom-type reduction techniques.
Бесплатно
Vengerovo-2-A Krotovo culture site in the Baraba forest-steppe: an archaeozoological study
Статья научная
This study addresses faunal remains from Vengerovo-2 in the Baraba forest-steppe—a Bronze Age site associated with the Krotovo culture. We describe the origin of the sample, the distribution of bones in the living space, the species and skeletal parts represented, and the age of the animals. The sample consists of small fragments, which are likely butchering and kitchen waste, as well as the leftovers of production and rituals. Bones of domesticated animals are more frequent (62 %) than those of wild ones. Skeletal parts from utility pits (pelvic bones, ribs, and appendicular bones) differ from those found in production areas—mandibles, crania, and entire skeletons. Presumably, pits contained food, and production areas were places where work was accompanied by rituals. The reconstructed animal breeding system indicates its domestic nature, centered on sheep and goats, with a small number of horses and cattle. Hunting large prey (elk and roe deer) was important, and the same is true about fur animals (fox and marten) and waterfowl. The procurement of peltry, hides, and leather were principal occupations. Bone tools were made mostly from elk bones. Results of correlation analysis suggest that in terms of composition, the faunal sample was largely similar to those from contemporaneous Krotovo and Yelunino sites.
Бесплатно
Статья
This article presents 44 radiocarbon dates from 18 water wells of different Bronze Age periods at Kamennyi Ambar settlement, in the southern Trans-Urals. At the preliminary stage, statistical outliers were identifi ed, which enhanced the reliability of the conclusions. Potsherds from the fi lling of the wells, contextual analysis of dating samples, and 14C dates allowed us to carry out the cultural attribution of nearly all wells (31 out of 34). The analyzed wells were subdivided into four chronostratigraphic groups corresponding to various settlement phases. Their duration and chronological limits were estimated. Most wells were found to belong to the Sintashta-Petrovka period (densely spaced linearly arranged blocks of structures inside fortifi ed areas). This period comprised three construction phases, the latest of which correlates with the Petrovka ceramics. The second period, marked by randomly arranged structures, is associated with the Srubnaya-Alakul artifacts, and is represented by only four wells. The simulation results suggest that the site existed for less than one and a half centuries, including a short chronological gap between the two periods. The Sintashta (phases 1 and 2) and Petrovka (phase 3) were two consecutive traditions, which may have overlapped during the late period. In the Srubnaya-Alakul period (phase 4), a transformation of the architectural tradition took place, and the layout and construction of the wells changed too.
Бесплатно
Статья обзорная
Бесплатно
Wooden paddles from Trans-Urals and from eastern and Western European peat-bog sites
Статья
Бесплатно
Woven, knitted, and wattled 17th–18th century textiles from Tara fortress, Western Siberia
Статья обзорная
Бесплатно
