Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia @journal-aeae-en
Journal articles - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
All articles: 569
A study of finds from excavation I at Suchu island, the Lower Amur (the 1974 field season)
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A study of human bones from a dwelling at Ust-Voikar, in the subarctic zone of Western Siberia
Review article
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Scientific article
We describe a large fragment of fabric from the under-headdress excavated from mound 51 at Yaloman II—a site on a high terrace near the place where the Bolshoy Yaloman fl ows into the Katun, Central Altai. Various criteria, including radiocarbon analysis, suggest that the burial dates to the Xiongnu Age (200 BC to 100 AD). The structure of the textile was assessed microscopically. On the basis of morphological criteria, the fi bers were identifi ed as silk. The fabric is described according to the accepted international standards. Results attest to the use of a treadle loom for producing polychrome silk fabric, from which the early nomads sewed a headdress in the form of a cap or bonnet. Such a prestigious material was produced in limited quantities in China to decorate details of clothing worn by the elite. Decorative silk items could have been imported from there to the Altai as gifts received by the leader of the nomadic Xiongnu Empire in Inner Asia. The Altai was part of this empire, as demonstrated by the entire assemblage of funerary items from Yaloman II.
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A zoomorphic antler staff from an Early Neolithic burial at Pushkinsky, the Orenburg region
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Above-ground frame buildings in Western Siberia: archaeological and ethnographic parallels
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Affinities of the Sargat population in the Baraba forest-steppe
Scientific article
Within-group, between-group, and comparative analysis of craniometric data relating to local and chronological samples of the Sargat population (5th century BC to late 3rd / 4th century AD) was carried out. The study focuses on sample from the Baraba forest-steppe. Comparative analysis, performed with the principal component method, included Early Iron Age samples from adjacent territories. No discontinuity was found in the spatio-temporal cranial variation among the Sargat groups. Despite differences between the three Sargat samples (Baraba, Irtysh, and Trans-Ural), they all represent one and the same Caucasoid physical type, characterized by meso-brachycrany, medium-high braincase, wide low, and somewhat flattened face, moderately inclined frontal bone, and protruding nasal bones. The Baraba group differs from two others by a wider face, larger pyriform aperture, and largest dacryal width. Comparative statistical analysis indicates affinities of the male part of Sargat groups with nomads of the Urals and Kazakhstan—Saka, Sauromatians, and Sarmats. Possibly, military campaigns by the Achaemenid state against the nomadic tribal unions of Central Asia in the second half of the 6th century BC triggered the migration process. Initially, migrants moved to the Irtysh basin, and thence to the western (Trans-Ural) and eastern (Baraba) peripheries of the emerging Sargat culture. The female part of the population was less affected by migratory processes. Female samples of the Sargat reveal an autochthonous cranial complex.
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Aktas-an “ephemeral” Upper Paleolithic site in North Kazakhstan
Scientific article
This paper presents new findings from field studies at Aktas, an Upper Paleolithic site first excavated in 1982 and 1983. It is located in North Kazakhstan, where Paleolithic sites are quite rare. We describe the stratigraphy, paleontology, archaeology, and chronology of Aktas. Six lithological layers are distinguished, two of which (3 and 4) abound in faunal remains. Chronology was generated from a new series of OSL-ages. The accumulation of layer 2 took place between ca 20–12 ka ago, whereas layers 3 and 4 were formed ca 50–30 ka ago. A side-scraper, made of imported flint, was found. The bulk of the faunal complex relates to large ungulates such as Pleistocene horse (Equus ferus), woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), and mountain sheep (Ovis ammon). Some bones bear traces of deliberate fragmentation and dismemberment using stone tools. These facts, along with the taphocenotic indicators (species composition, absence of traces of predator activity, etc.), as well as the location and stratigraphy of the site, allow us to conclude that the faunal assemblages at this location are anthropogenic. Traces of human occupation are scarce, suggesting that Aktas is an “ephemeral” site, attesting to human presence in that territory during the Late Pleistocene, but revealing no cultural indicators. The findings picture Aktas as a kill-site—the place where the prey was butchered and consumed. This is the only such site known in the area to date. The number of lithics is too small for cultural attribution. However, the estimated age suggests that North Kazakhstan was peopled as early as the beginning of MIS3, corresponding to the early stages of the Upper Paleolithic.
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Scientific article
The Early Neolithic site of Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don evidences successive peopling of the coastal zone in the 6th millennium BC. Analysis of faunal remains, toolkit, and limited technological contexts suggest seasonal orientation of the site shown at least at the early stages. We present the results of the analysis of the Early Neolithic bone tools from Rakushechny Yar layers 23–11 of excavation I, and assess their place in the context of bone industries of the contemporaneous archaeological cultures. The collection is dominated by points. Despite the variable morphology, their preforms and manufacturing techniques are rather standard. Apart from points, two spatula-like tools and two specimens with beveled edges, made from red-deer antler, were found. A limited typological and functional set reveals a peculiar subsistence activity. The traceological analysis has highlighted a stable series of tools for working skins and processing coarse vegetable materials (possibly for basket weaving). Spatula-shaped tools were likely destined for processing mineral materials such as ceramics. Certain typological and technological parallels are found in the Northern Caspian and the Lower Volga regions, but especially in the Southern Caucasian Neolithic (Aratashen-Shulaveri-Shomutepe) traditions possibly originating from those of the Levant and Zagros.
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An Early Neolithic sanctuary in the Eastern Irtysh basin
Scientific article
We describe the findings of excavations at an unusual sanctuary in the Baraba forest-steppe. It is a structure consisting of a ditch encircling the presumed sacral space, and a system of pits containing non-utilitarian artifacts. Pits in the bottom of the ditch indicate wooden structures, which are not preserved. Descriptions of the features are provided. Artifacts are related to household, manufacturing, and ritual. On the basis of stratigraphy and radiocarbon analysis, relative and absolute chronology is assessed. The site dates to the 7th–6th millennia BC and is associated with the Barabinskaya culture. Parallels with Mesolithic and Neolithic sanctuaries and ritual sites in the Eurasian taiga zone are listed.
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Scientific article
We describe a rare Old Mongolian inscription carved on an outcrop of Devonian sandstone near the Second (Small) Sulfate Lake in northern Khakassia. Tentative translation, dating, and cultural attribution are provided. The condition of the inscription and adjacent representations of humans, animals, and tamgas are described. Three groups of signs of which the Old Mongolian inscription consists are identified. Variants of translation to modern Mongolian and Russian are proposed. One group of signs renders the text: “In the Year of the Snake, the second winter month, the 21st day…” Other graphemes, translated from Mongolian, mean: master, elapsed, horseman, give, herd, steppe (talo). Certain words are indistinct and illegible. The lower and upper chronological limits of the inscription are 1204 to early 1720s. Horsemen figures are carved in the same technique. Old Buryat parallels suggest a rather recent date. Pre-Mongolian tamgas are pecked rather than carved. The script belongs to the latest instances of Old Mongolian epigraphy in the region.
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An Old Turkic statue from Borili, Ulytau hills, Central Kazakhstan: issues in interpretation
Scientific article
We describe an unusual Old Turkic statue at Borili (Ulytau, Central Kazakhstan), distinguished by a peculiar position of hands and by an unusual object-a pickaxe held instead of a vessel. Stylistic features and possible prototypes among actual pickaxes suggest that the statue dates to 7th to early 8th centuries AD. The composition attests to the sculptor's familiarity with Sogdian/Iranian art and with that of China. Several interpretations of the statue are possible. The standard version regarding Old Turkic statues erected near stone enclosures is that they represent divine chiefs-patrons of the respective group. Certain details carved on the statue indicate an early origin of the image. It is also possible that such statues are semantically similar to those of guardians placed along the 'path of the spirits" near tombs of Chinese royal elite members.
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Scientific article
This article presents a rare bronze idol—a winged bear with an anthropomorphic mask and a bear head on the chest. The artifact was found in the Khangalas Ulus (district) of Yakutia and is kept in the Samartai Museum in the village of Kerdem. The search for parallels led to a wide range of Early Iron Age and medieval cultures of the Western Urals and Western Siberia. Similar composite images are common among cast ritual items relating to the Pechora, Perm, and Western Siberian animal styles. Chemical analysis showed that the sculpture was made of tin bronze with the addition of iron. This bronze idol could have been brought to Yakutia by tradesmen or Cossacks. While being quite unusual for Yakutia, it could have been used to represent a patron spirit or aid in shamanic or domestic rituals, being consonant with Yakut religious, specifi cally totemic beliefs, as evidenced by numerous ethnographic sources.
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Scientific article
The Akhshtyrskaya cave site in northwestern Caucasus dates mostly to the Middle Paleolithic. In 1961, during the analysis of faunal assemblage from layer 3a, a permanent upper second molar of Homo (AKH 1) was discovered. Initially, it was attributed to fossil Homo sapiens. Here, we present new findings related to this specimen, specifically to its external and internal morphology, amount of enamel and dentine in the lateral part of its crown, and a comparison of metric and nonmetric characteristics with those of Denisovans, H. ergaster/erectus/georgicus, H. erectus, H. antecessor, H. neanderthalensis, H. sapiens, Middle Pleistocene Homo of Europe, and Middle and Late Pleistocene Homo of China, distinct from H. erectus. At the first stage, frequencies of nonmetric traits were subjected to principal component analysis. At the second stage, obtained PCA scores were integrated with measurements of the same specimens using PC analysis with grouping variable. Results suggest that the molar from Akhshtyrskaya by no means belongs to H. sapiens. Its morphology is very archaic, linking it to mostly Middle Pleistocene hominin teeth from China. The volume of lateral dentine opposes AKH 1 to molars of Late Pleistocene Homo of Europe and those of H. sapiens, revealing a shift toward Denisovans. The specimen likely belongs to an evolutionary line that has thus far not been found in Europe. Probably, it is of Asian origin.
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Review article
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Scientific article
We present the findings from an archaeobotanical study of samples from the habitation layer of Bukhta Nakhodka, a 13th to early 14th century fort on the Yamal Peninsula, Western Siberia. On the basis of a detailed analysis of the taxonomic diversity of macro- and micro-remains of plants, the vegetation around the site is reconstructed as grass, moss, and subshrub tundra. The abundance of pollen and vegetative plant parts in habitation deposits inside buildings support an earlier hypothesis that peat and turf briquettes, resulting from turf removal, were used for construction. The vegetation cover of tundra area within the site and immediately adjoining it had changed. Its integrity was disrupted during construction of the fort, after which ruderal tundra apophytes expanded rapidly, and the turf layer was partly recovered during the fort's existence. A secondary grass cover, differing from that of the natural tundra communities, formed after the fort had been abandoned. A few remains of wild food plants were found, but none of cultivated plants. On the basis of archaeobotanical data, it is concluded that the pre-Nenets people used the plant resources of the Yamal subarctic tundra mostly for construction, domestic needs, and possibly as food.
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