Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia @journal-aeae-en
Статьи журнала - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
Все статьи: 553
Статья научная
We analyze a part of the Paleolithic layer of Afontova Gora IV (Ovrazhnaya) in Krasnoyarsk, evidencing intentional exploitation of outcrops of red sandstone and other local rocks. We describe archaeological finds and faunal remains, identify species important for subsistence. Based on the results of the intrasite spatial analysis, we separate an area of domestic activities centered on an open hearth. Scar-patterns and raw material links were analyzed. The preservation of the cultural context was demonstrated. The area likely functioned within a single activity episode. Types of activity are reconstructed. Primary reduction techniques applied to oval-flat pebbles to get first or second order blades were the same as those used to obtain ready wedge-shaped microcores transported to the site. To test the idea that red rocks were used as sources for mineral pigment, rock samples and archaeological artifacts were examined. In samples from Afontova Gora IV, no minerals that could be used to obtain the red pigment of the “ocher” type were found. Pieces of red rock brought to the site must have been used differently. The 14C-date of the complex with cultural remains is ca 18 ka cal BP.
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The Andronovo age women's costume, based on finds from Maytan, Central Kazakhstan
Статья обзорная
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The Aul-Koshkul-1 Cemetery in the Baraba Forest-Steppe: Findings of a Multidisciplinary Study
Статья научная
We present the results of aerial photographic and magnetometric studies at Aul-Koshkul-1, a group of mounds in the Baraba forest-steppe. Photogrammetry proved highly efficient for constructing orthophotographic plans and digital models of outward features at archaeological sites. Data were processed with an original approach, generating a map of relative heights, decreasing the effect of natural relief and highlighting altitudinal anomalies of an anthropogenic origin. Aerial photography is highly efficient for revealing archaeological features that are hard to locate by visual analysis of the surface (mounds destroyed by tillage, shallow ditches, etc.). Orthophotographic plans constructed by aerial photography in oblique sun rays at sunset present the most contrastive representations. Aerial magnetometry revealed most mounds at Aul-Koshkul-1, although the site was surveyed with minimal accuracy because magnetic anomalies caused by archaeological features were rare. Our multidisciplinary study yielded new information about the mounds previously registered by ground-based magnetometry, and discovered new features, leading to a revision of the cemetery’s reconstructed boundaries and composition. The study demonstrates the great potential of a joint use of aerial magnetometry and aerial photography for locating and studying archaeological sites at a new, sophisticated level.
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The Chemical Analysis of Glass Samples from Roman Era Cemeteries in the Crimean Piedmont
Статья научная
We assessed the chemical composition of more than 40 fragments of glass vessels from the Roman Period cemeteries in the Crimean piedmont— Druzhnoe, Neyzats, and Opushki, using X-ray spectral microanalysis. The results suggest that the glass from all the cemeteries belonged to the soda-lime-silica group, based on natural soda. The samples fall in glass groups “Levantine I”, “HIMT”, and “Roman glass”, typical of central and peripheral Roman manufacture in 0–500 AD. Most vessels are made of glass with a high content of iron, manganese, and titanium, as in the HIMT group, most common in Europe since 300 AD. The likely workshops are those in the Syro-Palestinian area, northern Egypt, and Sinai, pointing to contacts of the northern Pontic with other parts of the Greco-Roman world. The composition of glass from all the three cemeteries is the same, suggesting that the sub-mountainous Crimea imported glassware from the same workshops.
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The Early Paleolithic Age site and the bifacial lithic industries of Southeast Asia
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Статья научная
In 2019, a group of previously unknown mounds with “mustaches” was discovered in the north of the Kulunda steppe. They are quite unusual: all of the mounds are ground and located on floodplains. In 2023, a set of remote sensing methods (aerial photography, electromagnetic profiling, and electrical resistivity tomography) was used at Karasuk-1 and Troitskoye-1 to assess the design of the mounds and see if additional features were present on their periphery. For this type of structure, geophysical methods were employed for the first time. Maps based on aerial photography data have made it possible to record the relief features of objects in high detail. Troitskoye-1 consists of five rather than four mounds. Using the electrical tomography method, the composition of the mound platforms was shown to be homogeneous. On geoelectric sections, they correspond to conductive areas ca 0.5 m thick. At both sites, the central mounds do not have “walls” on the eastern side. Apparently, no removal of soil was carried out on that side, in order to provide access to the ritual areas from the space enclosed by the “mustaches”. According to the results of aerial photography, at Karasuk-1 cup-shaped depressions were discovered on the surface of the western ends of the “mustaches”. They can be tentatively associated with the design of the mounds. The northern “mustache” is markedly broken. No additional features were identified inside or near the mounds. The results suggest that both complexes were built at the same time and are autonomous.
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The Jomon megalithic tradition in Japan: origins, features, and distribution
Статья обзорная
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The Kushevat site and the paleogeographic context of the initial peopling of Northern Urals
Статья научная
On the basis of new materials excavated in 2019–2021 from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kushevat, this study addresses the problem of initial human occupation of the Subpolar Urals. Geological and geomorphological fi ndings are presented along with new chronological and paleogeographical data. Archaeological and faunal materials are described, and result s of the traceological analysis of reindeer antlers with cut and chop marks are presented. The fi ndings suggest that Kushevat was a pioneer settlement of the northern Ob region. The obtained luminescence and radiocarbon ages suggest that the peopling of the Lower Ob region occurred prior to 30 ka BP. Climatic conditions during the fi rst half of the Upper Paleolithic (55–25 ka BP) were favorable for humans in the subpolar zone. Geological and geomorphological situation at the Upper Paleolithic sites of northwestern Urals (the Pechora and Kama basins) can be used as a paleogeographic analogue of the conditions in the Lower Ob region during the Pleistocene. The principal Upper Paleolithic sites in the region are associated with accumulations of megafaunal remains in the mouths of ancient gullies. Archaeological sites apparently consisted of two areas differing in location, economic specialization, and toolkit. Areas of the fi rst type include residential zones on leveled areas of the second river terraces adjacent to the ravines. Those of the second type are estuarine zones of modern valleys of streams and rivers, where huge accumulations of megafaunal remains are preserved at the bottoms of ancient ravines.
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Статья научная
This study deals with the concept of «cultural heritage» in the Kyrgyz Republic, including both material culture and traditional ideology. We describe their codification, and strategies for their preservation and popularization. We draw on a large database, which includes findings of original fieldwork. We outline the elaboration of the concept of cultural heritage and its content, presenting a systematic description of institutional aspect and meaning, and we analyze the practices of its implementation. The historical and cultural heritage is viewed as a multifactorial space. The realities of modern Kyrgyzstan suggest that the nation implements integration strategies in foreign policy. While using the notions of cultural heritage and traditional values, the republic strengthens its ties with other members of the CIS, raising the level of its integration into the Central Asian community and maintaining its status as part of the world civilization. Cultural heritage is a key resource of social change and the economic stabilization of local communities. Its preservation at the level of everyday culture, academic, and educational practices, museums, festivals, etc. is a condition of national consolidation.
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The Marfa kurgan in the Stavropol territory: an example of an ancient architectural structure
Статья обзорная
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The Nagaybaks: from social stratum to ethnic group (the origins of ethnic identity)
Статья обзорная
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Статья научная
This study addresses the structure of cemeteries and types of tombstones in the funerary tradition of the Russian Priestless Old Believers (known as Bespopovtsy) living in the Ust-Tsilma District of the Komi Republic. For the first time, a description of their graveyards, known as “mogilniki”, or “mogily”, is provided, and their history and preservation are outlined. Traditional beliefs concerning cemeteries and their arrangement are cited. The symbolism of the forms of tomb structures, reproducing not only canonical prescriptions and requirements, but also certain pre-Christian beliefs, is analyzed in detail. Folk terms relating to the dead and the afterlife are included. The degree and nature of post-revolutionary transformations, profoundly affecting the foundations of the Old Believers’culture, are explored. Despite the attempts to preserve traditions, modern lifestyles took root in the 1960s and 1970s. Elements of local specificity in funerary rites have nonetheless survived and can be seen in the symbolism of tombstones, synthesizing Christian and pre-Christian traditions. Findings of ethnographic, linguistic, and archival studies are presented.
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Статья научная
Archaeological fi ndings suggest that the Pazyryk burial chambers made from larch logs replicated dwellings, being a key symbol of culture. Log structures were built on both winter and summer pastures. Parts of them were placed in graves as substitutes for entire houses. Their inner structure corresponded to that of the house. All artifacts in the graves had been used in everyday life, being intrinsically related to the owners’ earthly existence. Felt artifacts functioned in the same way in elite burials and in those of the ordinary community members, although their quality was different. Felt carpets decorating the walls of the Pazyryk leaders’ houses were true works of art, while those found in ordinary burials were simple and rather crude. The typical form of the late 7th–3rd century BC wooden burial chambers in the Altai-Sayan was pyramidal. In the Southern Altai, this form survived until the 1800s–early 1900s in Telengit aboveground burial structures.
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