Hunting pitfall traps near the Chuzik river in the Narym Ob region: first research results

The Ob River basin, comprising various landscape zones, is one of the largest in the world. One of the most extensive zones in Western Siberia is the southern taiga distinguished by pine forests with reindeer moss or “white moss” serving as a food source for reindeer which have been hunted by the local population. The taiga hunters procured large animals not only actively and directly, but also by making specific structures where the animals were driven during seasonal migrations. One of the types of such structures which have survived until today as archaeological source are the so-called trapping pits or pitfall traps. This type of archaeological objects is most common in the Surgut Ob region. In the fall of2023, during a survey of lands allocated for economic development in the vicinity of the town of Kedrovyi of Tomsk Region, 25 round and oval depressions were discovered. The depressions, which were located in a line, crossed a scarp covered by pine forest with reindeer moss at the lower level. For clarifying stratigraphy, an exploration pit was made on the embankment of the depression, revealing buried podzolized sand which in a natural column is located in the sub-sod part of the soil profile. The information obtained indicates the anthropogenic nature of these depressions. Field research indicated that this group of depressions could be interpreted as a hunting complex ofpitfall traps. Its direct parallels have been found 450-460 km northwest in the valley of the Bolshoi Yugan River in the Surgut Ob region. Further research in the area, aimed at discovering settlement complexes associated with the depressions, will make it possible to establish spatial and temporal relationships between the known complexes and create more substantial basis for their interpretation.