Статьи журнала - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia

Core-shaped tools from the Early Pleistocene deposits at Bairaki, Moldova

Anisyutkin N.K.

Статья научная

This a rticle deals with a series of core-shaped tools from Early Pleistocene deposits (layers 5 and 6) of the stratifi ed site of Bairaki, located on high above-fl oodplain terrace VII of the Dniester, in the outskirts of Dubăsari, Moldova. The site was discovered in 2010 by the joint Russian-Moldovan archaeological expedition and excavated in 2011– 2014. The interdisciplinary studies revealed six layers with Early Paleolithic artifacts. Two lowest layers (5 and 6) are associated with the channel alluvium of terrace VII. The paleomagnetic studies have shown that these deposits correspond to the Jaramillo episode of the Matuyama epoch. The lithic industry of layers 5 and 6 are comparable to the Late Oldowan. Most artifacts are made of poor quality fl int; there are also pebble tools made of non-silicic rocks. Most lithics are small. A distinct series of core-shaped end-scrapers and side-scrapers made on residual cores (9 spec.), fragments (1 spec.), and fl akes (5 spec.) is identifi ed. All these tools are robust and had been processed in a similar way. They are made of pebbles no larger than 6 сm. The steep working edges of all implements in this series are heavily retouched. Similar items have been recorded from the Early Paleolithic materials of the region. Such tools were widespread in the Early Paleolithic of Africa and Eurasia. The earliest pieces were found in the Bed I assemblage of the Olduvai Gorge.

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Corvids in the Buryat Traditional Worldview

Badmaev A.A.

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Using a structural-semiotic approach together with a comparative historical one, and based on ethnographic, lexical, and folklore sources, this study focuses on the raven and the crow as characters in Buryat mythology. Buryat terms for these birds are of Mongolian origin. Folk beliefs concerning the raven are more elaborate than those concerning the crow. The image of the raven is ambiguous, whereas the crow is an unambiguously negative character. The analysis of vocabulary and of the minor genres of folklore shows that Buryats paid attention to the various zoological features of these birds: plumage color and voice in the crow; plumage color, size, beak, flight duration, collectivism, emotionality in expressing joy and greed in the raven. The essence of both birds of prey was believed to be impure. The raven symbolized heaven, spring, vigilance, war, masculinity, and rancor. Being intelligent and independent, the raven was the Buddhist deity’s aide. Unlike the crow, the raven was patronized by evil spirits and other demonic characters. The crow was a feminine character, a symbol of sky, winter, water, bloodlust, and rumor. Both birds were associated with shape-shifting. The Buryat views, then, combined specifically ethnic and universal ideas about corvids.

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Cranial injuries in the late Bronze and early iron age population of the Shnogh river basin, Armenia

Khudaverdyan A.Y., Hobosyan S.G.

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Cranial traumas in a sample from the Pucar'a de Tilcara fortress (Jujuy province, Argentina)

Zubova A.V., Dmitrenko L.M., Ananyeva N.I., Stulov I.K., Andreev E.V.

Статья

We analyze injuries in the cranial sample from the Pucará de Tilcara fortress, dating to the time of the Inca conquest. Analysis of violence markers, carried out by visual examination and computed tomography, and the comparison of results with those relating to samples from the Regional Development Period of the Quebrada de Humahuaca valley, suggest that although the violence level remained high, its nature could have changed after the arrival of the Inca. The female sample reveals just two perimortal injuries, no trophy skulls were found, and the frequency of nasal bone fractures is higher than in earlier samples. This may indicate lower level of between-group fi ghting for control over resources, and higher risk of interpersonal violence. The observed pattern suggests that having arrived in the Quebrada de Humahuaca region, the Inca eased political tension by establishing control over trade routes and the distribution of arable land areas, which had previously been the main cause of local armed clashes. The infl uence of artifi cial cranial modifi cations on the pathological and traumatic status of individuals was also analyzed. Two types of modifi cation were recorded in the sample—fronto-occipital tabular oblique and fronto-occipital tabular straight. None of them caused pathological changes or a decrease in the thickness of cranial bones.

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Craniotomy as a prehistoric medical practice: a case of antemortem cranial trepanation in Southern Siberia in the Late Bronze Age

Chikisheva T.A., Pozdnyakov D.V., Volkov P.V., Krivoshapkin A.L.

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Cruciform signs decorating Paleolithic bone artifacts from Cherno-Ozerye II, the Middle Irtysh area

Schmidt I.V.

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Cultural and technological characteristics of Russian forged iron tools from the Selkup cemetery Migalka in the Middle Ob basin

Chindina L.A., Zinyakov N.M.

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Cultural attribution of Early Bronze Age tombs under kurgans in Azerbaijan

Gasymov P.P.

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Cultural horizons at the Uyelgi cemetery mound 11, southeastern Urals

Botalov S.G., Grudochko I.V., Parunin A.V., Gazizova S.R.

Статья научная

The article outlines the findings from excavations at Uyelgi mound 11, the most informative one at the cemetery. Its lower horizon revealed a burial demonstrating features highly indicative of the nomadic culture of the Southern Urals. The upper horizon contained two burials belonging to the Srostki culture, characterized by certain artifacts of the "Hungarian" (Carpathian) type, evidencing the return of some South Uralic groups from the west at the time when the Srostki people migrated in the opposite direction from Eastern Kazakhstan and the Altai. This conclusion is supported by findings from the Aktobe cemetery, where typically "Hungarian" ornaments of horse harness co-occur with a belt set with floral decoration following the Srostki tradition of the Altai. Inside the mound and on the platform under it, fragments of five clay vessels were found, most of which are decorated with comb-and-cord patterns of the post-Bakal, Nevolino, and Petrogrom-Yudina type, associated with the East Uralic and West Siberian Ugrians. In terms of spatial structure, stratigraphy, and typology, then, the Uyelgi mound 11 demonstrates at least four cultural horizons: South Uralic, "Hungarian" (Carpathian), Altaic (Srostki), and Ugric (East Uralic and West Siberian), jointly mirroring complex ethnic processes in the region between 800–1000 AD.

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Cultural interaction patterns in the Bronze Age: ritual bronze artifacts from Korea and Japan

Nesterkina A.L., Solovieva E.A., Gnezdilova I.S.

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Cultural ties across taiga and steppe: material culture from the medieval Lower Angara river and Prospikhinskaya Shivera IV

Senotrusova P.O., Mandryka P.V.

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D.G. Messerschmidt’s collection of Siberian antiquities in drawings at the St. Petersburg Archive of the Academy of Sciences

Tunkina I.V.

Статья научная

This study focuses on the drawings of items collected during D.G. Messerschmidt's fi rst multidisciplinary expedition to Siberia in 1719–1727. Pictures of the artifacts have been preserved among the documents held by the Academy of Sciences Archive in the personal papers of the traveler, which includes his fi eld journals, the appendices of his reports to the Pharmaceutical (Medical) Registry, and a large handwritten treatise “Sibiria Perlustrata” (1727), outlining the expedition's fi ndings. In 1728, Messerschmidt's archaeological collection was included as part of Peter the Great's Siberian Collection, exhibited at the Kunstkamera. Watercolor and pencil drawings and engravings depicting the exhibits are identifi ed. Handwritten descriptions and drawings of the items have made it possible to a certain extent to reconstruct the fi rst encyclopedist's Siberian archaeological collection, which perished during the 1747 fi re at the Kunstkamera. As Messerschmidt's graphic works demonstrate, he documented items spanning the time from the Bronze Age to the Late Middle Ages and covering the territory from the Urals to the Trans-Baikal region, including things imported from Western Europe, China, and Central Asia. Also, he collected archaeological items representing virtually all cultures of the Minusinsk Basin. It is concluded that in the fi rst third of the 18th century, Messerschmidt's collection was the world's largest and most representative assemblage of artifacts from northeastern Eurasia.

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Deciduous human teeth from the Upper Paleolithic site of Yudinovo,Western Russia

Zubova A.V., Moiseyev V.G., Khlopachev G.A., Kulkov A.M.

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Decorative belts of Xianbei period nomads from Karban I, Northern Altai

Seregin N.N., Demin M.A., Matrenin S.S.

Статья научная

In 1989–1990, five decorative belts worn by the Xianbei Period nomads were excavated from the Karban I cemetery in the Chemalsky District, Altai Republic. Their details (33 plaques, five buckles, six “units”, and two “pendant tips”) were found in four undisturbed graves of males (mounds 11, 27, 33, and 39). They are described with regard to function, decoration, and chronology. Parallels from the Altai and adjacent territories, dating to the late 1st millennium BC–early 1st millennium AD, are listed. A more precise attribution is the Early Xianbei Period (100–300 AD), correlating with the Bulan-Koby culture of the Altai. Available facts suggest that the style of these artifacts was influenced by the Xiongnu and Xianbei traditions. On the basis of the finds in situ, several variants of belt sets, some of which are hitherto unknown, have been reconstructed. The composition of the belts is unrelated to the owners' age and evidently mirrors their personal preferences. The results demonstrate the social relevance of the belts, since most were found in burials of top-ranking males.

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Dendrochronological methods in the architectural and ethnographic study of Russian towns in Siberia: the case of Tara, Omsk region

Sidorova M.O., Zharnikov Z.Y., Myglan V.S., Mainicheva A.Y., Dorzhu Z.Y.

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Dental anthropology of the Mesolithic and Neolithic populations of the Eastern European forest-steppe zone

Zubova A.V.

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Dental data on the origin of the Early Iron Age Bolshaya Rechka population in the Upper Ob area, and the differentiation between the Kamen and Bolshaya Rechka cultures

Kishkurno M.S.

Статья научная

This dental study addresses the origin of the Bolshaya Rechka people in the Novosibirsk region of the Ob, with reference to the migration of Saka and Sarmatian tribes from the southwest. I compare dental features of southern Kamen and northern Bolshaya Rechka populations inhabiting the entire Upper Ob area. Dental samples from eleven Bolshaya Rechka cemeteries were studied. Findings indicate heterogeneity. Nearly all samples evidence admixture between eastern and western groups. That from Bystrovka-3 takes a separate position, revealing more eastern traits along with those marking the Southern Siberian Upper Paleolithic complex. The results enable us to evaluate the role of Saka and Sarmatian migrants from Kazakhstan, Cis-Urals, and Tian Shan. This role appears to have been relatively minor and likely indirect, upholding the ideas advanced by archaeologists. Bolshaya Rechka and Kamen populations (the latter culture was thought to include the former) are biologically distinct. Bolshaya Rechka displays continuity with local Early Bronze Age groups. The main component of the Kamen population of forest-steppe Altai, on the other hand, was introduced by Saka and Sarmatian immigrants, who, evidently, had not reached the Novosibirsk region of the Ob. Rather than moving on northwards along the Ob from the forest-steppe Altai, they turned west, toward the Tobol-Irtysh watershed.

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Descendants of eleudei: the problem of oirat-buryat ethnic contacts

Nanzatov B.Z.

Статья

Eleuths (Ölöts) played an important part in the ethnic history of the Mongol peoples of Inner Asia, in particular of the Oirats, being the dominant group of the Oirat union at the early stages of its history. In this study, an attempt was made to fi ll in one of the gaps in the ethnic history of the Turko-Mongol peoples, using the ethnonym “Ölöt”. The major limitation in studying the Oirat ethnic history is the insuffi ciency of sources. Much can be gained from using Buryat and Sakha (Yakut) folklore, specifi cally epics, genealogical legends, and tales. The reason is that the Ölöts, according to one of the hypotheses, took part in the formation of those peoples. This idea is supported by the reconstruction of protoforms of certain Buryat and Yakut ethnonyms and eponyms. Their comparative and historical analysis indicates ethnic ties between the Buryats and the Yakuts, and their participation in the ethnic history of the Mongolian stratum. These facts open up a wider perspective on Turko-Mongol ties. The Ölöt ethnic history shows them to have been distributed across vast territories of Inner Asia and Siberia, eventually becoming a component of various Turkic and Mongolian groups, while preserving their identity and featuring prominently in ethnogonic legends not only of Dörben-Oirats, but of the Buryats and Yakuts as well. The fi ndings of this study attest to the complexity of ethnic processes among the Mongolian and Turkic speaking nomads of Eurasia. Also, they contribute to the understanding of the ethnic composition of Mongolia, Buryatia, and Yakutia, thus widening the scope of studies on the Altai.

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Early Iron Age pyramidal kurgans in Western Siberia

Matveeva N.P.

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Early Upper Paleolithic Tubular Beads from the Main Chamber of Denisova Cave

Shunkov M.V., Fedorchenko A.Y., Kozlikin M.B.

Статья научная

The authors present the results of a technological and functional analysis of bone tubular beads from the Upper Paleolithic layer 11 in the Main Chamber of Denisova Cave, northwestern Altai. Tubular beads are among the most widespread categories of Early Upper Paleolithic ornaments from the cave. The technological sequence of operations has been reconstructed. It included several stages: selection of blank, planing, manufacture of preform by truncating the epiphyses, ornamenting the preform, marking preforms for fracturing into short tubes, sawing or cutting, fragmentation by cuts, removal of cancellous bone, and smoothing the fracture surfaces. Prepared blanks and diagnostic production waste were not noted in the technological context of the complex; this indicates that the tubular beads were probably manufactured outside the excavated area of the Main Chamber. The analyses revealed traces of wear caused by contact with clothing or human skin and by threading on a string or thin strap. Tubular beads were used by the Upper Paleolithic inhabitants of the cave as elements of clothing, necklaces, and probably bracelets. The closest but still considerably distant parallels to the tubular beads from the Altai are Aurignacian ornaments of a similar age from Western, Central, and Eastern Europe.

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