Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia @journal-aeae-en
Статьи журнала - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
Все статьи: 508
Early Upper Paleolithic serpentine ornaments from Ust-Karakol, Northwestern Altai
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Early medieval jeweler's kit from the Western Amur region
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A late 9th century jeweler's kit from dwelling 2 at Osinovoye Ozero, a Mohe site on the Middle Amur, is described. Bronze was smelted in a crucible placed on a ceramic support inside a vessel-like furnace. Nine bronze plaques from the same dwelling are compared with negatives of molds in which they were cast. Based on results of the elemental analysis of plaques, these fall into three groups. The fi rst differs from the other two by the source of ore, and plaques of the second group were recast more than once. Most Turkic type plaques were evidently destined for recasting into Mohe ornaments. The latter include one openwork and two fi gured plaques as well as bronze bells found in 2012 in dwelling 3. Because bronze items differing in composition were recast several times, the source of ore cannot be identifi ed. Techniques of manufacturing molds and facing of plaques, used by Central Asian and Mohe artisans, are reconstructed.
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Early middle paleolithic industries in southeastern dagestan
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This study addresses lithic assemblages from the Middle Paleolithic sites Darvagchay-Zaliv-1 and Darvagchay- Zaliv-4, which are highly relevant to the understanding of this stage in Dagestan. We examine paleoclimatic conditions prevailing during the sedimentation at these sites. A detailed description of lithics is provided. Artifacts were discovered in a minimally disturbed paleosol. They represent the Middle Paleolithic, specifi cally Levallois technique of primary reduction. Judging by the presence of unlined fi re-pits and the fact that fi nds are scattered over a large area, we infer that these sites evidence multiple short-term occupation. The dates of the sites fall within the Riss-Würm (Eemian, Mikulino) interstadial (MIS 5e)—ca 125–110 ka BP. Parallels with coeval sites in Dagestan and elsewhere in the Caucasus are discussed. Whereas no direct parallels with any Caucasian Middle Paleolithic industries can be found, those of Darvagchay-Zaliv-1 and Darvagchay-Zaliv-4 are consistent with the general evolutionary trajectory of the Caucasian Paleolithic.
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Early-middle Acheulean occupation of the Northern Transcaucasian highland
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In the northern part of the Transcaucasian Highland (Lori Depression, Armenia), three stratifi ed sites dating to the Early-Middle Acheulean—Karakhach, Kurtan I, and Muradovo—have long been subject to archaeological studies. On the basis of absolute dates and paleomagnetic records relating to the fi rst two sites, their age falls in the interval between the mid-Early and initial Middle Pleistocene. All three sites yielded a uniform industry with a peculiar toolset (various choppers, picks including chisel-ended ones, handaxes, large scrapers, macro-chisels, and macro-knives), manufactured mostly on natural tabular fragments of local volcanic rocks. Certain indicators of this industry, such as subrectangular and fan-shaped choppers, slab-like chisels, etc., are described. Information on 28 other localities with Acheulean artifacts, including 11 stratifi ed ones, recently discovered in various parts of the Lori Depression and in adjacent areas of the Shirak Depression and the Debed River valley, is provided. It is demonstrated that the lithics from all these sites belong to the Karakhach tradition. Data are cited suggesting that three sites (Yagdan, Agvi-canyon, and Agvorik) are over 2 mln years old, and two more (Kurtan II and Dzhradzor) are at least 1.5 mln years old. It is concluded that people associated with the Karakhach Acheulean tradition had appeared in the northern Transcaucasian Highland ~2.0 Ma BP, then settled widely in this area, and remained there for several hundred thousand years. In my view, this may be explained by the very favorable environmental conditions of the region during the Early Pleistocene, and by the abundance of large rock fragments suitable for tool manufacture.
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An attempt is made to classify, analyze, and interpret female burials with weapons in the graves of early nomads in the Southern Urals, dating to late 5th–2nd centuries BC. In the Early Iron Age, this vast region was a center of the nomadic elite. The sample includes 23 graves with 24 buried individuals at well documented cemeteries. Only individuals for whom skeletal sex indicators are available have been included. Criteria and opinions are revised. Weapons in female burials include mostly quiver sets; whereas daggers, swords, and spearheads are rare. The placement of weapons was the same as in male burials: bladed weapons were placed on the right side, with hilts directed to the right hand, whereas quivers were found mostly on the left side. The remaining funerary items were exactly like in other female burials: there were numerous ornaments, bronze mirrors, spindle whorls, and stone altars. Female burials with weapons were found in kurgans regardless of social status. Apparently, those women represented all social strata, from elite to low-ranking nomads. Nothing indicates the existence of female military units, which, however, does not imply that women took no part in armed confl icts or did not use weapons to protect themselves and their homes.
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Findings from the Paleolithic studies in Siberia
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It was long believed that Siberia with its harsh environment and climate had been peopled by humans rather late, and that the culture of early Siberian hominins was primitive. Wide-ranging discoveries of the last 3–4 decades, carried out by archaeologists of Siberia, especially those from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS in Novosibirsk, with the participation of experts in other disciplines such as geology, geochronology, paleontology, paleobotany, genetics, etc., indicate very early dates of the initial peopling of Siberia and a new taxon, H. s. altaiensis, which is associated with one of the most interesting cultures in Eurasia and, along with the earliest anatomically modern African humans, H. s. neanderthaliensis, and H. s. orientalensis, had participated in the origins of anatomically modern H. s. sapiens.
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The northeastern Iranian Plateau is considered a leading region in Paleolithic studies. The history of Paleolithic research in this region dates back to the mid-20th century. However, unlike the western and, to some extent, the central part of the Iranian Plateau, only a handful of sites have been identifi ed in the northeastern part. Field studies conducted on the Neyshabur plain have provided some of the only Paleolithic evidence at four locations in the foothills of the Binalud Mountains: Dar Behesht, Mushan Tappeh, Ali Abad, and Qezel Tappeh. Our research aims to assess this evidence, provide a revised typology of Pleistocene artifacts from the Neyshabur plain, and also study the role of these and other fi nds in the area and analyze their signifi cance in terms of the dispersal of Pleistocene hominin populations. We propose two main corridors on the northeastern Iranian Plateau assumed to have been infl uential in the dispersal of human ancestors.
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Floral designs on sacrificial towels from an old believers' Prayer house
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We reconstruct the semantics of fl oral compositions on commemorative towels, embroidered by women, members of the Old Believers Bespopovtsy (priestless worship community rejecting marriage) in Novosibirsk. The original vine motif, associated with the funerary cult, was transformed by replacing vines with more familiar motifs, such as fl owers, berries, buds, etc. Certain designs resemble those found in late 19th to early 20th century embroidery manuals and on wrappers of cheap soap manufactured by Rallet, Brocard, etc. In most cases, however, there are no exact parallels. Some fl oral compositions are original: for instance, those showing vases with scrolls reminiscent of Jesus Christ’s monogram, and “vases” turned into letters on Our Savior’s icons. The results of the technological and stylistic analyses suggest that most sacrifi cial towels were made in the late 1800s and early 1900s, some in the 1940s and 1950s, and some may have been manufactured in places of the Old Believers’ former residence in northern and central Russia. Designs arranged in friezes or central fi gures, such as crosses, cruciate motifs, “vases”, or “vaults”, allude to the Old Believers’ fundamental values. Ritual towels evidence motifs on commercial embroideries creatively transformed by Old Believers according to their beliefs and traditions.
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We describe three processed fossilized bones of sea mammals of the Miocene age, discovered in various years, but in similar stratigraphic and planigraphic contexts, at the Early Paleolithic site Bogatyri/Sinyaya Balka, on the northern coast of the Taman Peninsula. We provide information on the age, stratigraphy, and planigraphy of the site, interpreted as a place for butchering carcasses of elephants and rhinoceroses (elasmotheres). Results of traceological analysis suggest that two fossilized seal bones had been split by the counterstrike technique on soft (wooden or bone) anvils, while the third bone had been more thoroughly processed. All three specimens may have been collected from coastal deposits. Fossilized seal bones were evidently used as raw material along with rocks and animal bones of the Taman faunal complex. Small and inconvenient as they are, such bones provided the hardest isotropic material available at the site. That their use was not incidental is convincingly demonstrated by artifact No. 1, found in 2005. The point made on this bone is situated in the middle of an intentionally prepared blade, in a notch fashioned by shallow retouch. This bone tool is quite similar to other points in the Early Paleolithic industry of Bogatyri/Sinyaya Balka. Tools of that category differ in shape and size, but are similar because of a special morphological element— a point (bec, borer, etc.) shaped by a combination of retouch and small encoches at any suitable place in the blank such as jointing or spall.
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Foundries at Stary Tartas-5-an early bronze age site in the Baraba forest-steppe
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This study focuses on areas evidencing bronze casting at the Odino culture site, Stary Tartas-5, in the Baraba foreststeppe. One such area is within dwelling 1 and has a smelting hearth and pits situated nearby; the other, outside the dwelling, has a smelting kiln. We provide characteristics of these areas and their archaeological context. Each artifact from the foundries is described in detail, parallels are listed, and results of binocular microscopy of the molding compound are outlined. Based on fi ndings of thermogravimetric studies, we assess the functions of technical pottery represented by fragments, and the number of times various items of the casting set could have been used. Previously, crucibles shaped as straight-walled jars have not been found at Odino sites, with the exception of a single intact specimen from burial 286 at the Tartas-1 cemetery. Dwelling 1 at Tartas-5 and the workshop associated with it were apparently parts of a single household. The Odino bronze casting tradition was retained by the Krotovo population, who supplemented it with innovations, such as the use of oval cups with thicker bottoms adapted to their own casting practices. The Odino sites in the Baraba forest-steppe date to the fi rst half of the third millennium BC. It is concluded that the evidence of the bronze casting industry found at Stary Tartas-5 is the earliest in that region, and that its level in the Odino culture was high.
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